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Everyday VOpreneur® with Marc Scott
Permission to Fail, Relationships, and Building a Voice Over Career the Right Way with Samantha Damiano
01:07:29
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- [00:00]
A
I need to know about wild camel racing.
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B
Giving yourself the permission to fail.
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A
There comes a point where it's like, no, just go freaking do the thing
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B
I want to say. You know, as much as you want
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A
to know, you did the demo mill. You got burned.
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B
Hated the sound of my own voice. Like, I really was not in a good place at the end of 24.
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A
My experience has been that good people connect you to good people.
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B
What will move me forward in the direction I want to go?
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A
Who are some of the most impactful people that you have had the opportunity to work with at this point, but
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B
what I've never heard someone say and what I personally find really important.
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A
Next to your demos, your website is your most important marketing tool. You need a place where you can direct potential buyers so that they can hear your demos, but also so they can find out a little bit more about you and easily get connected with you if they want to work with you. But a great website needs a great host, a reliable host. And that is why I trust upperlevelhosting.com if you are ready to build your website and you need a domain, you need somewhere to host it and you're looking for incredible service. Upper levelhosting.com Samantha Damiano I had no idea. 300 and some odd episodes into my show and all of the people that I have invited to join me on the podcast in the past, I had no idea that you were going to be the hardest guest to book.
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B
You're welcome.
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A
I was not prepared.
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B
I was not prepared.
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A
You were really. You really don't want to be on my podcast? It kind of, kind of was hurting my feelings a little bit. Not gonna lie.
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B
No, I really do.
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A
You're playing so hard to get.
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B
I really do want to be on your podcast. I value your podcast so much. Like it's taught me, I've grown. I did not expect to be part of it except for listening.
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A
Success is in the follow up, as I always teach. And it only took about 27 emails to finally convince you to come on my show.
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B
I feel personally attacked.
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A
Oh, my goodness. That's okay. We're gonna have fun. Because I think that you've got some good stories to tell and I think that you've got some. Some value to add. And I think that it all starts with wild camel racing.
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B
Oh, goodness. Okay, you did a dive. You went. You went places.
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A
I went places. I need to know about wild camel racing for sure.
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B
And surprisingly, it links to voiceover in a very unsuspecting way.
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A
I can't Wait to hear that story.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Well, were you doing play by play for wild camel racing?
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B
I wish. I don't know that that's an event. Apart from they grab somebody not drunk by the sidelines and make them do it.
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A
I'm put this up on YouTube now.
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B
If we travel back to Outback Australia, there's actually a wild camel racing circu. So it's actually camel racing circuit. I mean, maybe I shouldn't.
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A
NASCAR Outback style.
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B
It is actually. Maybe I shouldn't put the word wild in there. Not all the camels are wild.
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A
So the farmers, some of them are fully domesticated or.
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B
Well, they're all. Depends how far back you want to go. They're all caught from the wild in Australia. They're not bred like in America. Anywhere in North America, you're not going to find wild camels. They're all bred in Australia. They're all wild. Like there's a huge population.
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A
Like have I did not know that?
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It's insane. They. It's very. Most Australians don't know this fact.
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A
Kangaroos? Yes. Koalas. Yes. You know, all the typical things that you expect. Yes. Had no idea there was. There was wild camels in Australia. It's a really big industry and that there was a racing circuit.
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B
Yeah, really big industry. So we didn't start out like purely just racing. I was working at a farm, which is the largest farm camel farm in the southern hemisphere. And we would do all kinds of things, like wagon rides, tour rides around Ayers Rock and all that kind of stuff, or Uluru as it's called now. But yeah, we started racing, racing and I just. It's kind of that. What, like, do you want to get up on one? Why would you say no? So, yeah, this is true.
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A
Given the opportunity.
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B
We used to race them backwards as well. Like as in like they'd run forwards but we'd sit on them backwards. And then it just became a really big deal. Like this event became the biggest event of the town and it spread and then we would take the camels to other circuits and there was just. It was really fun. It's honestly like one of those things that when you do it, you're. You're just like living to 100% the fullest. You don't know what to expect. And I really, really enjoyed it. I loved it. The people were fun. They were always up for a new challenge or something else. And we would throw wild camels in because they are faster than domesticated ones because of the fear. So we would throw the wild ones in there. But, yeah, I did. We used to, like, we go out and we'd catch a bunch of wild ones. So we'd go out to the next property. There are no fences. Each property is millions of acres. And we go out to the next property, and then we'd round up several hundred camels. We'd take our picks of who we wanted, schedule them kind of out through these gates, and then we'd hitch them up to a wagon. Like wild camels with two in the front that were tame and domesticated that we had broken in. And then we'd go and we just trek for hundreds of kilometers. And they'd break in over the course of this trek. And as they broke in, you'd attach them to the back of the wagon and do different things. And then one day, the guy was working for. He's like, do you want to get up on one? And I was like, well, sure. But I came into this trek halfway. I hadn't been in it from the beginning at this point. And so I was like, yeah, sure. Part of my brain was like, huh, I don't know if this is one of the good ones or not. Jumped up on him. And I kind of got that feeling. And you've worked around them for a bit. And I was like, this is. Are we good? And he's like, oh, yeah, you'll be fine. And I was like, okay. And then, like, we all start going. And I was like. I could tell, like, my camel is moving a little faster than he should be moving. And we're, like, now picking up speed here. And I was like, okay. And so as I'm passing by the rest of the wagon train, everyone's just kind of looking at me. And I was like, chris is my boss. And I was like, chris, are we okay? And he's like, just hold on. And I just went, no fences. Just went. Eventually, I tried to steer him into a really big tangled bush, and he got stuck, and I jumped down. Then somebody else came and helped me.
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A
The fact that I have not seen some sort of a documentary on this is actually, like, it's breaking me right now. Like, how is it that Netflix or Nat Geo or, I don't know, BBC? Like, somebody. How has somebody not gone out and made. This is like a movie waiting to be made.
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B
I have to tell you so many stories.
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A
When I saw wild camel racing, I was trying to imagine how that story might go, and it was nothing like that. That was so much better.
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B
I've been on them in actual race Circuits. I was on one, and I was on a really good camel. Like, broken in. Like, we actually used to do circus stuff with him. Like, he was great. He was real solid, but meant he was real slow. And as this was getting towards the afternoon of one of the camel cups, so we'd run different heats. And I was on this one, and his name was Connor, and he was so sweet, and he was doing so well. And we're coming second. And this very inebriated, shall we say, lady runs up to the side. There's just a pole. Like, this is not official. And she hurls a beer can at us. And my camel just started to freak out. Like, just started bucking and jumping. And so then everybody started overtaking us, and we split out through the fence. It was just a great. This relates to voiceover. I promise.
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A
I. I don't even care. I just want to see it. Like, I literally. I have to. I'm going to fall down a YouTube rabbit hole later on.
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B
Uluru camel cup.
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A
Yeah, I have to see this.
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B
We had, like, helicopters, like, filming us from the air. It's like, it's a huge event.
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A
So the footage is there. Why has the documentary been. Sam, it's time to create the documentary.
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B
Will you voice it for me?
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A
I don't know that I can. I think that we need your authentic experience to be able to truly tell that story. Wow. So you're in Australia. Yeah. Riding camels, which I did not even know was a thing. And now you're in Alberta.
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B
Yes.
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A
And I'm guessing you did not end up in Alberta, Canada, for the climate. Unless you wanted to find the polar opposite climate of Australia, in which case, yes, you pretty much landed exactly where you should be. But you have also had many, many stops in between. How does one end up going from wild camel racing in Australia to hanging out in the freezing tundra, literally, of Alberta?
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B
Well, this is a philosophy I inadvertently unknowingly applied to my voiceover career as well. Can you see? I'm, like, nervous about adding value to your audience. And I'm like, they need to know.
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A
They need to tell the story. So there's so much value in the story.
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B
I've always been somebody that just wants to do what I want to do. And, like, regardless of the camel thing, that didn't come to me till I was probably about 19 or 20, I discovered that was a thing, and I wanted to try it and do it like it was. Animal training was always, always my deal, so I thought that'd be really cool and yet since I was a very young child, everybody should follow their dream that if they saw a Disney movie and they wanted to be part of it, they should pursue it. I saw Balto, the Disney movie and Balto is based on a true story. Are you familiar with Balto?
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A
I don't think I have ever heard of that. I am just getting schooled all over the place here so far.
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B
So Balto is based on a true story. I'll try and make this brief. Balto's based on a true story. Back in. I'm going to get my date wrong. 1917, 1925, early 1900s, there was an epidemic, an outbreak of diphtheria in Alaska. And the only way to get medicine to the town of Nome. Nome is right on the coast on the Bering Sea. The only way to get medicine there because the the Bering Sea freezes over was by dog sled. And this is the early 1900s. And the next town that had the antiserum was, I don't know, 1200 miles away. So they formed a dog sled team and took. And the Disney movie is about that now since there's been new movies. And it's like Balto is not the lead dog, whatever. However, I saw that as a five year old and I was obsessed with it. So I thought I did a good couple years, four or five years of the camel thing. Traveled around Australia, worked at Steve Irwin, sue and then was like, you know what, I want to kind of try mushing sled dogs. Really easy. There's an exchange, a really good exchange program between Canada and Australia. Jumped on a two year visa. Researched very briefly. I literally googled what is the sunniest place in Canada and it said Calgary. And so I wrote in. Really? Yeah, yeah. A significant portion of the year. It's more sun than anywhere. It's the sunniest city in Canada.
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A
I mean it's but cold and covered in snow, I guess.
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B
But they did not put that in my search.
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A
Yeah, yeah, I mean sunny is fine, but it's still, you know, minus 40 out. Yeah. Okay.
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B
Literally. So yeah, I googled sunniest place in Canada. Calgary. Dog mushing in Calgary. None Canmore was the closest in the Rocky Mountains. Gorgeous. Applied to three places, got accepted to one, said great, booked a flight, came over.
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A
That's wild.
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B
Literally it.
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A
That is a wild way to end up in Alberta. But now you're happy in Alberta.
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B
Yeah, I've traveled since like this is. This was literally 10 years ago this year.
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A
Right. So now you're happy in Alberta. And you're working on building a voiceover career?
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B
Yes, surprisingly. Didn't expect it. Quit my last job. Did everything they thought.
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A
I mean, it's a bit of a stretch from, you know, Kimmel racing and Steve Irwin sue to voiceover.
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B
But I was before all of this in my youth, can't tell. But in my youth I was a, I was an actor. Like I went to post secondary school for acting. I did, I worked on set, like both in front and behind the camera. I did stage productions. I was even gonna get my master's at one point. And then I was like, Sam, you're not, you're not that person. Don't do that.
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A
So yeah, so there's always been.
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B
It's always been there. Yeah. I was in drama classes from the time I was 8 years old.
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A
Not specifically voiceover, just like theater, musical theater on camera, just acting in general.
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B
Had no idea voiceover was a thing. Just acting in general. I adored. And yeah, my mom kind of put the common sense into me. I was talking about moving to LA when I was quite young and she was like, maybe we should get out.
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A
We should go mush dogs in Alberta instead. Well, it's so much more responsible just
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B
to pick her battles, I guess.
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A
Oh my goodness. Where is voiceover marketing going in 2026? What are the trends that we need to be paying attention to? Are there things that we have been doing in our marketing in the last couple of years that maybe worked, but this year they're not working anymore because trends are changing. My brand new marketing class is called 2026 Marketing Trends for Voice Actors. And in that one hour session I walk through a dozen different trends that I see developing right now. Things that are going to have an impact on your marketing. But not only do I outline what the trends are and how they are changing, but I offer up plenty of actionable, practical advice. You know me, on how you can actually avoid apply that to your own voiceover marketing efforts. Check out the class. It's available for instant viewing. Now go to veopreneur.com Click on the store button. Look for 2026 marketing trends for voice actors. Head to veopreneur.com click on the store button. 2026 marketing trends for Voice Actors. Now back to our show. Okay, so 2023, how do you land on voiceover? Not really knowing or you know, previously not really thinking about voiceover, just acting in general. How do you land on voiceover?
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B
To that day, I still hadn't really thought about voiceover. So 2023, I was working at a place nearby to here with wolves. And four years before that, when I started there, there had been a girl there that we crossed over by about six months, and she was from California. All she talked about was voiceover, but she was really into animation and gaming, which are two things I've never really been. Been big into. And so I thought that's all it was, but that's all she talked about. And then she left to pursue voiceover. And four years went by, and I was happy working with the wolves, and I loved it. And then we get to the point where I quit, and I'm gonna kind of reality check. Like, what are you gonna do? And this is not an amazing story. Voiceover just was on my brain, really heavy when I quit. It was just on my brain and on my brain, and I started looking into it, and, boy, that was a slippery slope. Here we are.
- [14:32]
A
I know that the reason why you were so apprehensive to come on the podcast, because you told me 376 times the reason why was that you really felt like you didn't really have a lot of value to offer. You just weren't really sure. You know, I'm so new, and I'm still trying to figure all this out. That's where I think the value comes from, though, because as I have gotten to know you, I think that there are a thousand different paths that somebody can follow to build a voiceover career, and there are a thousand different coaches who are teaching a thousand different ways. But when I look at what you've done and how you've done it, investing repeatedly in the right ways, coaching with the right people, building the right kind of demos, building relationships with the best of the best. I really don't see a scenario where you do anything other than achieve all of your goals. But that's the story that I'm really interested in. I want to know how you started down that path with all the different ways that there are to go, right from a voiceover ad that you see in the local newspaper or, you know, a demo mill place that you fall victim to. So many. So many people do. And you've managed to build this incredible network with. It's like, name the 15 or 20 of the most right people that you should probably work with in voiceover. Like, if you were to just do a generalized survey and somehow you managed to connect with every single one of those people and work with every single one of those people and build relationships with every single one of those people. And that's what I'M really curious about because I think that there are a lot of people who are trying to build this right now, and some of them are going about it the wrong way. Some of them are going about the wrong way. Some of them don't even know exactly how to go about it at this point. But I think whether you realize it or not, you might actually be a good guide because I think that you've been going about it the right way, and I think the results are starting to show for that. I think that you're starting to see that payoff now that is. So how did you end up there?
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B
Well, I mean, I made all the mistakes to start, or a significant portion of them. I think it's two. I think there's two parts to that. I see a lot of what you're talking about when I'm in groups and classes and things now because I'm still always growing. A few people along the way taught me some very interesting, pivotal things that have really stuck with me. Okay, so I see this now. I see people coming into classes and they've just got no clue about what exists outside of, well, I put a microphone into a closet and now I record my voice. They've got no clue about all the resources out there. And it's 20, 26. Like, we have everything at our fingertips. So I think I want to say, you know as much as you want to know, but I think we create a lot of our own barriers that we don't realize. A lot of the time, a few things have stuck with me along the way. And then I'll kind of quickly go over my story and how I got to where I'm at. And a big part of it is part of it's personal, like my personality, but it's also part of just doing the thing, like pushing yourself through that anyway. Confidence and knowing your value to add. A really pivotal moment for me was a mutual friend of ours. Obviously, everybody knows J. Michael Collins. I adore him. And he said to me, because I was 100% on that track, to become a perpetual student, that was my destiny. And he said to me something I had never considered, and that's what I think is you really, as you go through this, you really need to open your ears to what everybody is saying around you, but have the barrier and the filter of how it's going to affect you and how you want to apply it to your career and to where it can take you. So, for example, the thing he said to me that really stuck with me was now that you're like, you've trained. And he said that. He's like, you know, you've trained, you're good, you're solid. And he's. He's not going to say never keep training, but he talked to me about adjusting that. So, for example, going from the training I had been pursuing and was continually reinvesting in looking at it as you've achieved great. You've got a good foundation now with what you've built and all those other layers you've put on, everything you've gone into, you've researched, like your website and everything, all the things you've done. Now go and start taking that same money and time and putting it into getting in front of people that are making hiring decisions, right? Go from the exact same energy momentum, but now put it here and keep on doing that throughout your career as you keep going into the appropriate places. So when I started, I did take the advice of a friend, and she had had a wonderful experience with a demo mill, which is very unfortunate for me. I didn't do any research. I simply came in and I was feeling the pressure. I did it all wrong. I had quit my job. I had not. Like, I had savings, but that's not gonna last forever in 2023. So I was feeling the pressure. So I kind of panicked and went with this demo mill. Within weeks, I realized what a bad choice that had been and how wrong that was. And I just immediately then started what I should have done first. I started researching, and I fell into a couple of people that have been really pivotal for me. So Larry Hudson was one, Julie Williams was another. At the time, she's no longer coaching medical narration, but she was huge for me, Larry Hudson. And that's when I started to realize what I had gotten into. At no point did I ever think about backing out. I just started to realize what I had gotten into in terms of a studio and everything. So I just went deep and I did it old school. I was writing, like, paper notes and things. And finally, as I started to learn, my world just got bigger. And I was like, well, there's more and then there's more. And you make these connections and you never make anything unattainable for yourself. I never saw anybody in this industry as. As holding me back or as there being a barrier to contact. J. Michael was very quickly one of the next people I contacted. We did an evaluation, and the first thing he said to me was, great. Like, you have really good talent. You're easily in, like, the top 15% or the 85th percentile. I don't do math, whatever that works out to be. However, I'm not willing to work with you because. Not because, but your Australian accent. You need reduction. Like this is too much and I feel it's going to limit you. So go do some work on that. And the whole first year I did voiceover, I only worked in my Australian accent. I was trying to juggle learning an accent and I was trying to juggle learning technique. And it was a massive challenge. I cried a lot and I never let. I never let it get to me, I guess to the point I always continued searching, finding and building relationships. I would come to somebody, you can provide me value because I'm the student. I'm here. I'm going to do 110%. And as the tides have begun to turn and people now turn to me for advice and things, I've noticed that too. Like the willingness to help somebody that is willing to go above and beyond. You know, I found accountability buddies and I found friends and people to bounce ideas off of. I think it's really important to Everybody says have an accountability buddy. But what I've never heard someone say and what I personally find really important, have somebody at the same level as you as well as somebody above you. So if you can find somebody willing to be accountable to you that's above you, they'll push you, they'll mentor you, they'll help you grow. And I'm lucky to have those people in my life. I stumbled upon an amazing friend who is at the exact same point I'm at. And he's incredibly talented. And we can commiserate together, for lack of a better word. We can, right? Like you both get a rejection or he gets accepted, I get rejected. We can bounce. We keep each other sane and stable. But everything, every aspect of the career, website demos, demo player on your website, branding. Before committing to it, I want to know what there is to know about it. So I'm going to go, I'm going to pursue it and then I'm going to take what applies to me. I'm going to apply it. I'm probably going to overthink and stress about it first and then I'm going to. Yeah, then I'm going to move forward. And a lot of it, I think, has just been. My personality is, I want to say do first, ask later, but I also do research before I go through. Really getting burned by that demo mill opened my eyes to not just, you can't throw money at something and expect it to give you a return, you have to personally invest in it.
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A
Let's go back a second because I'm curious about. You did the demo mill, you got burned. A lot of people have been down that road before and you admitted I got burned because I didn't do my research. So I'm not making the same mistake twice. Now I'm going to start doing my research. What did that look like so that you could vet. I mean, yes, if you've been in this industry for five minutes, you know JMC is like el President Day, right? He's, he's the man. You can't go wrong with him. But if you, if you're from outside of the industry and you're trying to figure out who can I trust, how do I not end up with those demo mills? You don't know who JMC is or this person or that person or whatever. So when you were outside trying to come in and trying to research and trying to figure out who was good, what did that look like? How did you, how did you come to decide, okay, jmc, Yep, I can trust this guy or Larry Hudson, Yep, I can trust this guy. Or, you know, Julie Williams at the time, yes, I could trust Julie Williams. What were some of the things that you were doing to try to figure out who were the right people to get connected to?
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B
It's in the way they treat you. I then pivoted fairly quickly to what could have become another demo mill experience with another company. The way both of those two places treated me and their staff coaches, for lack of a better phrase, was very different to the way any professional industry person treated me. So the way Larry J. Michael, Brad Hyland, all of those people treat you is as an equal. They don't treat you like there is a big gate of information and you know, once you spend enough money, you'll get behind it. That was very quickly. What I noticed was their willingness to treat me as an equal, as a professional, at their level, despite not having had any time in the industry. They were very willing to give me other resources. The other two places were not. Everything was within our walls. You don't need to go anywhere else. We have this, we have this, we have this, we have this. Everything was very central. Nothing made sense. Any questions I had, the answer was, well, you don't need to know that. Not a fan. I don't like that.
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A
So, yeah, I totally get it in
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B
the way I was treated because I've
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A
actually said when I do 15 minute coaching consultations with people and I would say 80% of those coaching consultations is me ultimately sending you to somebody else because I'm not the guy, and I know I'm not the guy, and I'm not going to try to be the guy. So let me get you connected to whoever is right. And you're right, there are certain environments that you get into where that is not that you are very much inside of their walls, and they want to keep you inside of their walls. And that's actually a really astute observation and something that we should be paying attention to. I would guess then, that there's almost a domino effect, right? I'm assuming that there's almost a domino effect where you get connected to a jmc, for example, and now you're. You're in that ecosystem. Very different ecosystem from demo mill ecosystem, but where J. Michael can then say, okay, look, for this, go to this person for this, talk to this person for this, get connected to that person. Is. Is that part of how you then started to expand your network with more Right.
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B
People a little bit? Mostly it was quite honestly realizing there was a world outside that demo mill, like, as soon as I had that thought, like, this is not right. This can't. This can't be right. This can't be. All there is is what I thought. I started literally just, the world is at our fingertips. I just. I actually Googled podcasts, is what I Googled. First up, I was like, I didn't have time to sit online, so I was like, let me see what podcasts are there. I first found Julie Williams. I liked hers because it. It said something like, Christian voiceover podcast, and I believe in God. And I thought, that's nice. So I went and listened to it, and she talks about Larry Hudson, and I'm like, wait, there's more people. Literally, that's how basic I was at that point. I went to listen to him, I signed up to his email, I got a thing for a class. Now he's talking about someone else. And it's just like the lights just started to go off across the. And I was like, okay. And then that's when I realized that you can very quickly sink your money into everywhere. And you need to put. You need to put on the brakes, and you need to go, what do I need right now to move forward? What will. I hate this phrase, but what will serve me and what will move me forward in the direction I want to go? And that's really where I started to find different. So I also connect ahead of time. If I know, I'm interested in working with someone six months from now, I'm going to reach out now. I'm going to establish a friendship, a base and a trust and move forward. And I think there really is real people behind everything we do, and I don't think we use that enough to our advantage. I don't think we. I think it's very easy to contact someone and say, hey, I'd like this service, or whatever, without actually explaining a bit about who you are and making that personal connection, both of you benefit that way.
- [27:43]
A
My experience has been that good people connect you to good people. And when I was building my career, go back, you know, 2008, kind of in 2007, that area, I'm not going to say there wasn't a community. There was. It was a lot smaller, I think, and it certainly wasn't as visible. We didn't have all the tools that we had now. Right. There weren't as many events and there weren't as Facebook groups for this and whatever. And trying to find the right people was a challenge. And that was one of the reasons why I had made a commitment years ago that I wanted to do things, to shine a light on the good people. And so, you know, if you're. If you're on my podcast, if you're a guest on my podcast, I vetted you. I've worked with you. I think you're. You're one of the good people. If you're a, you know, if you're a coach that's invited to participate in the 12 voiceover gifts of Christmas, it's because I. You're someone that I know that I trust. You're good. I want to. I want to shine a light on you. And I think there is. There's an element of that, that good people shine. Shine light on good people. It's just. It still just makes me angry when I hear people who get connected to the wrong person first. And it's always so expensive.
- [29:00]
B
It is. And I think a lot of it is just not realizing there's something beyond those walls. And really, like, when those people are trying to keep you within their system, question it, ask why, like, and what else is out there? And so what if you go and research something and the else. Else that you find is worse than what you have? Great. You're in the better spot. You can't ever do damage to yourself by researching and opening up your world. You can only give yourself more options to consider and not ever saying that don't be happy with what you have, because you should. But once you've started to do that research and get a base and get a feel for people, it will grow and build from there and you'll be able to come back to your base and go, okay, now this is what I need. And it's slowed down a bit for me now in terms of the connections I'm building, probably because I've made the connections already, but boy, do they like. It's so amazing to. And I know there's people out there that don't need to have connect, don't need, don't have connections. And you can build a great career that way. But to me, are you serving your clients properly if you can't pass them to somebody else? If you can't, if you don't know or can't support in another way? I think it's our duty and responsibility to do so. And I was like this in all those other jobs. I had like a lot of crazy other jobs, but I'm always going to get connected to whoever I can because it's only going to benefit you. And like I said, if you find something out and you're like, oh, that's not as good, great, ditch it. Like, move on, it doesn't matter.
- [30:29]
A
This next question's almost not fair, but it's okay. I'm gonna ask it anyway.
- [30:32]
B
I have no doubts about you.
- [30:35]
A
You mentioned that, you know, I've made all the connections and you truly have, because I legitimately think that you have a better network than I do at this point. You just have this natural ability to connect.
- [30:44]
B
Shameless self promotion.
- [30:46]
A
Well, we'll get into that. Okay, great. We will get into that at some point. But I would love to know because I think good people shine a light on good people. We've already established that. Who are some of the most impactful people that you have had the opportunity to work with at this point and in what way? So it could be, you know, this person as a demo producer or this person I had a breakthrough with performance coaching, or this person set off a light bulb on this thing. I just, I'm curious to know some of those people that you have as you've gone on this journey that have been some of those really impactful people that have helped you move forward.
- [31:24]
B
That's a great question. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to.
- [31:28]
A
And don't feel like if you like, look, Sam is not leaving anybody out here. I don't want anybody to take this personal. If your name didn't get mentioned or whatever. But, you know, because that's why people always get nervous about this. Like, I don't need. You don't need to sit here and list. I mean, you can list out every single person you've ever worked with, I guess, if you want to.
- [31:43]
B
Oh, we're here a while.
- [31:44]
A
We're going to be here for a while. And so I'm just curious about some of the ones that have really had some of those impacts or those aha moments, or there was, you know, that unexpected thing. They were like, oh, wow, you know.
- [31:55]
B
Yep, absolutely. A few people come to mind instantly. I mean, the first one is I'm gonna go back to Larry Hudson. He was the first one for me. And what that was for me was he was the first person to. To show me the world. He was the first person to not keep me. He was the first person to go, well, you need this. You need her for this. You need him for that. You need to go to all these people. And the support, the absolute unfiltered support from him was incredible. He will jump on with you. He won't charge you for it. Like, he's just incredible. I really, truly felt like. Like there was a point where, okay, I've already told you this, but let's reveal it to the wider audience, because why not? I am a very technologically challenged millennial. Like, I would not. I cannot operate a smart tv. I just don't put that out there. There's been some hurdles, Marc.
- [32:42]
A
You just lost all your credibility. But anyway, carry on.
- [32:44]
B
Okay. No, but, like, legitimately think about my career. For 15 years, I saw as a vet tech first, then I.
- [32:51]
A
Not a lot of need for smart TVs while you're riding around on camels in the Australian outback. Right?
- [32:56]
B
No, but, like, literally. Because, like, literally, Mark. Like, we had ac. Some of our homes didn't have a television. Like, I. I was then up at the North Pole, pretty much, like up by Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. We barely had good Internet. I just lived a life where I didn't need technology. My phone.
- [33:15]
A
And you were probably happier for it, just to be clear.
- [33:18]
B
It was great. So to go back to your question. But, yeah, so I just. He really opened up my eyes. I switched to a Mac. He spent two days with me on Zoom, helping me transition, everything. Larry was huge for me. He was a real support, a real mentor. He really taught me that. Honestly, it's just okay to try. You're just going to get back up if something bad happens. He was great for that. Next big person was J. Michael. The sheer professionalism from him for me to realize the magnitude of what he has achieved and the way he treated me was phenomenal. I was very, very grateful. He's very gracious, he's very educated, and he's so humble. This is going to be so random. I've obviously now known him for, like, three years. Standout moment to me is, we're at One Voice last year in the lobby, and J. Michael's there. Pat Kirchner, Brad Hyland, a couple other people are there. We're all standing around. This lady walks in with a dog. J. Michael leaves us to go and ask her if he can pet her dog. And I was like, that's a good man. I like. I like that he is just a soul, and I love that he never made me feel like I was wasting his time. Never made me feel small. He always made me feel like the things I was thinking about mattered. The next person. I don't want people to think I'm saying you because I'm on your podcast. When I was deep diving on podcasts, I discovered yours. And I'm not saying this because, like, now I'm on your podcast because, remember, I didn't want to be here.
- [34:45]
A
It's the full circle moment.
- [34:47]
B
This was not on my bingo card for 2026. You were huge for me. I looked up to you. Not that I don't anymore. Sorry now that I've met you, but it's over now.
- [34:57]
A
We're beyond that.
- [34:59]
B
The illusion has been shattered. I looked up to you and the ability that you have to provide information and to talk to people and make everything accessible. You a huge part in how I learned a lot of what I've learned simply having podcasts on. When I'm like, I live on a farm, doing chores, gardening, riding around on the lawnmower. I'm listening to things. I'm trying to find moments in my day where I can absorb as much information as possible, filing things away for later. Okay. Every time I learn about somebody new I may not know about in the industry getting rarer, but it's still there, I come to your podcast. Have they been on it? What have they said? It's a really great platform, and I always recommend newer people to it. It's a great platform for just literally getting a masterclass in any topic. So you were huge to me and the playbook. Obviously, the amount of information you make accessible and doable really made a big difference to me. You made me feel like I could go and do all those things that now I'm going and doing and having really good success with Steve Henderson. Steve Henderson was incredible. If I backstep first. Brad Hyland. Brad Hyland and I connected at the end of 2024. Yes. And we started early 2025 together. He really, I'd say, took me from. He met me on the cusp of starting to do my accent work and really coming into the American accent. So I was still really hung up on the Australian accent and how I sounded. Hated the sound of my own voice. Like I really was in a. Not in a good place. At the end of 24, despite learning and making connections and doing all this, it was still a big journey. There's a lot of parts to consider. And meeting Brad and doing his, like, coaching with him, he helped me. I'd say he took me from, like, baseline where I was. I felt very beginnery, even though I had an acting background, as we know, voiceover is quite different. I feel like he took me, like, 80% of the way to where I knew I was on my way and comfortable and ready and felt good. And I loved working with him. And I still. We still do. We had a class two days ago. I still touch base with him once a month or so. He got my audition time down. Brad really started to help me in a professional sense. So I'm moving away now from the, you know, starting to understand the industry into how do I fit into it. What am I providing to it? Brad really helped me with that. And then right after coaching with Brad, I jumped into coaching with Steve Henderson. And I'd say Steve Henderson took me, like, over the goalpost, if that makes sense. I couldn't have done what I did with Steve without Brad. So Brad was instrumental to me in the way I don't stress about scripts anymore. The way I can bring myself authentically in a lot of different ways. Auditioning time, lower feeling that professional click, click, click. And moving into coaching with Steve Henderson. I wouldn't have absorbed what I did without Brad. Steve taught me how to love the sound of my own voice, if that makes sense. He taught me how to. Steve taught me truly that who I am and who I have to bring to voiceover is extremely valuable and to have fun with it. The change in me and my auditioning and the response I've been getting from agents and casting since then, since working with Steve after working with Brad has been huge. So that's. Yeah. And then outside, like, now I'm working with Tina, and I've been in her library groups forever, and she's phenomenal. But those were the people to me, like, really pivotal, if I had to pick them out, that I wouldn't go back and change a thing about my interactions with them and having known them.
- [38:27]
A
I think we've all had those moments or that. That coach or that light bulb or whatever. And it's interesting because there's two trains of thought where one is that you, you know, you find that coach that speaks your language and you just. You click with, and that's who you work with. And then there's. You got to have different coaches and different perspectives, and then people argue about different coaches and different perspectives because then you get too much information and you can't. You know, every coach is inside your head and you're trying to figure out what you do with it. But then I stop and I think, like, I still have things that I carry with me from Everett Oliver. I still have things that I carry with me from Angusa. I still have things that I carry with me from Dave Walsh, from Tom Pinto, from Hugh Klitsky, from. From Brad. Like, I've worked with a lot of different people over the years, and there are little things. Every once in a while, there's a different one of them sitting on my shoulder, right? It's the little angel and devil or whatever sitting on your shoulder. And sometimes Hugh's sitting there, and sometimes Brad's sitting there, and sometimes it's. It's Dave Walsh. But it's so important to get connected with those right people. So what was the moment where you finally said, it's time to do the thing? Oh, because I think this is a. I have had moments with people before where I've literally sat down with them and said, if I see you buy one more class from me, I will refund your money and I will block your access because it's time for you to go do the thing. Right? There's this feeling of there's always one more thing to learn, or if I Just a little bit more and I can get a little bit better or whatever. But there comes a point where it's like, no, just go freaking do the thing. And yes, you're gonna mistakes, and you're going to learn from those mistakes as much as you learn from your coaching. So you're. I mean, you're a couple years in at this point, but when. When was the point where you're like, okay, not that the coaching stops, but
- [40:31]
B
that the business launches, giving yourself the permission to fail? That's huge. Not Expecting it to go right, to be perfect. And just before we get a little bit more into that, I do wanna really quickly touch on what you said about like having coaches, all those people and that sitting on your shoulder thing. All the people you mentioned, I know I've worked with, not super extensively, but like workshops here and there and whatnot. And I think like you said, those things you glean and take from each of them, I think it also goes beyond that. And what I've really noticed lately is so now I've like taken J. Michael's advice and I've moved into coaching with. Or not maybe coaching, taking classes, getting in front of voice buyers. Right. So casting director, directors, agents. Yeah, you're still learning. Like, that's still coaching. They're talking about auditioning techniques and double take, different takes and things. But what you're doing that I've. This has just come to me in the last couple weeks is that you're actually taking all of that information. It's all been filed away in your brain and mine isn't that big, so y' all will be fine. And you're taking that information and you're putting it in perspective with these new things you're learning. So now an agent the other night asks me, okay, great, love that take. Now here's the next three things I want you to do in the next one. And it had been a perfectly cold read in this workshop I was in, had never seen the script before and it popped up and I was able to do it. And his response to me was the fact that you can take those notes on a cold read, you literally, I just put it in front of you. You weren't given it last night. Speaks volumes about you as a voice actor. And I think that's because I can do that because I've had so much different experience. And I think having those, it's great. Like coach. Even if you coach with one person, it's better than coaching with nobody.
- [42:17]
A
Sure.
- [42:18]
B
But if you do coach with a couple different people, I think you'll find that their lessons return to you in different ways as you continue to grow and move and you can come back to those lessons and they, they feed into you differently. So anyway, but to get back to your other question, that was really that thing I'd mentioned about J. Michael telling me, like, you're ready, go. I had a couple people telling me that and I still was pumping on those brakes. I still was sabotaging myself. And I think we do that a lot without realizing that's what we're doing to ourselves. Yep.
- [42:48]
A
When you fear of rejection, fear of failure, or fear of success for some people. Right. Fear of success can, can hold you back just as much, but you get to a point where the house is built and it can be lived in.
- [42:58]
B
Don't let the cobwebs build up.
- [43:00]
A
Yeah. And now you're doing some interior decorating or whatever. Right. Like, you have built your house, your foundation is strong, you've done all of the things, but there comes a point where you've got to put yourself out there. What was the moment? Or maybe it wasn't a specific moment, but when you put yourself out there, it's time to do the thing. And you had that, oh, my gosh, I can do this, I'm legit. Was it like the first booking or a particular booking or a particular piece of feedback or landing an agent or something? But that moment when it was like, this is the validation that I've been waiting for and now I can just kind of relax and yeah, it was the thing.
- [43:43]
B
There was two things. It was two parts. One of them was like people replying to my emails, to cold marketing emails. It can, as you know, it can feel like you're sending things into the void. And to me, in my head for so long, I wasn't going to be starting until I was starting marketing. I always had apprehension with the pay to plays. I've been on them, but I had apprehension because of my accent for so long, I knew I wasn't probably going to do as well and I was reluctant to put the money in. I haven't done badly on them. I do very well on Budalgo and actually I've done okay on voices as well. But I've been apprehensive with V1, 2, 3 because of the algorithm and whatnot. And why put something out there if you're not 100% in it? So to me, it was really, your business is going to take off when you start direct marketing. And I built it up in my head to be this big, huge thing where I had to have like, you know, the perfect website and all the demos. And it's like you could be tens of thousands of dollars in debt. And the baseline for a voice buyer to need and want to use your voice and work with you is simply for you to be. Have a good studio, know what you're doing, honor their time and be a professional. It's. It's something that you can do at a very simple level. If you have put yourself in that position. So for me, it was really sending. I started sending out those marketing emails, and I still didn't. I was still like, oh, I'm not. You know, I really wanted to hide behind that curtain of, well, it took like, if it doesn't work, that's fine, or whatever. And then I got my first reply and it was positive. And I was like, someone wants to work with me. And that's when I was like, wait a minute. This can happen. And the confidence to have that one. I was like, okay. It switched in my brain. Something you teach. But it switched in my brain from, this is not just me being like, could I work for you? This is me going, I actually know my values. I have something to offer. Here's what it can do for you. Would you like it? And as soon as that switched in my brain, after the first person replied to me within 15 minutes of sending an email, I was like, wow. Like, this is great. And suddenly the no's don't matter because every single no is getting you closer to your next yes. And I did then go through a period where I was expecting a lot of yeses and I was getting them. And then I went through a period where I wasn't. And that that was my first hurdle. And again, we're talking about the span of the last three months. Like, things have picked up. I've had a session every single day this week. That's crazy, but it picked up for me.
- [46:05]
A
It's not crazy, by the way. It feels crazy because it's new. Yeah, but that. So as an outsider looking in, that is the payoff for everything that you've done properly for the last two years. That's what you speak about.
- [46:21]
B
Can I speak to that?
- [46:22]
A
Right? Like, that is literally what you should be expecting. This is your payoff now. But, yes, speak to it.
- [46:28]
B
There's one thing I do want to say is do not underestimate the prep. Because, like, going in to your. It's great and it's exciting and, yeah, you get your first directed session. Boy, do you want to be prepared. Boy, do you want to have good audio. If they ask, hey, what's that noise? You want an answer for it? If they say, hey, can we switch to this channel? You want to be able to say yes and not be the problem. If they say, okay, great, now give me this take. You don't want to stutter and be like. Like, that's all I have in me. Like, I was so prepared for that first session, and I had no idea that all that work I had been doing was getting me there. And in that first session, I was able to deliver what they wanted. That feeling is what's going to keep you going. Being able to deliver and give them what they're asking for time and time again is going to make you want to seek more work because you want to. We want to please more people. Do you want to go and do more? And that's also where I feed off of that energy. And I go, okay, well, great, I'm helping out these people. Who else could I help out? It just snowballs.
- [47:28]
A
Yeah. And that's it. That's it. It's the two years that you put in, doing the classes, working with the coaches, doing the workshops, all that sort of stuff where you don't recognize. It's not like all at once everything's built because it's a little bit at a time, a little bit at a time, a little bit, and that's okay. But then when you have that session and everything runs smoothly, and then you look back and you're like, man, it's because of this that I learned from Larry, and it's because of this that I picked up from Tina. It's because of this that I did with J. Michael. It's because of this from Steve and this from Brad. And then you realize how it all comes together in the end. And there's going to be a lot more weeks where you're going to have sessions every day. I'm so glad I got you on the podcast now because, I mean, even we had to reschedule the interview, even after I convinced you to do the interview, we had to reschedule the interview because you're so busy now. You're such a. Such a big deal now.
- [48:22]
B
Oh, goodness, not at all.
- [48:24]
A
But that becomes the norm. That becomes the norm. But that's the payoff. Right? And I really do believe that, that when you. When you put in the time, the effort, the energy, you make the investments in the right places and in the right ways. And, you know, this is my faith speaking, too, but it's like I can't do all of those things and just have nothing happen. I just don't believe that that's the way that the world works. Right. And it's. It's not that I'm owed it, but it's that I've earned it by doing. The payoff will come, and the payoff will come.
- [48:55]
B
And I think being patient and being okay with that too. Right. Like, for me, I really had no choice because it was a big. I really believe in not putting yourself in a position before you're ready for it. But that comes with a condition because at some point you actually have to do that. But for me, it came with. I wasn't prepared to submit my demo to somewhere, which was really, at that point, samples, because I knew there was still Australian sounds in it and I knew I was working on it and it wouldn't be that way forever. So that, for example, I sat for two years on a place I desperately wanted to contact. I sat on them for two years before I finally submitted my demo to them. Submitted my demo to them. Just signed a year contract with them. I started my first gig with them this week and that they never knew about me for two years. The thing is, people will still be there. It will still be okay, you'll still get there. And I'd really like to come back and mention one person that I did not mention that has been probably more instrumental than all the others combined. Tim Heller.
- [49:53]
A
I was waiting to see whether or not his name was going to come up because I was going to say, if we do this whole interview and Tim doesn't get name dropped at least once, you're probably getting fired. So I'm glad that you.
- [50:04]
B
I don't know why he didn't like. I don't know. So Tim has been like. And this is a thing I think that a lot of newer people can pursue and can look into is having that mentor. And for me that came through working with VA for vo, so with Bridget and Lynn, who are incredible and they run that outfit and we just happened to like land at the exact right time together. So Tim has been such an instrumental mentor. But something that I didn't expect to learn from him was one of the things that we that he had me do was obviously come onto email communications to handle the audiobook production side of things. Watching him email and talk to people was huge for me. I do tend to be very unfiltered. I don't come from a corporate background. I have holes in my clothes most days. Like I'm just that person. And I really learned that first of all, there's nothing wrong with that. But there's also a really good fine line between keeping your personality and being professional. And I learned that from Tim so deeply by watching his communication, his ability to talk to people, to lead with curiosity, to honor relationships, to always go above and beyond while still maintaining boundaries. I never expected to learn that. And that's something I've been able to implement in my own business.
- [51:28]
A
Yeah, There's a time and place, right? How you talk to your spouse is different from how you talk to your boss is different from how you talk to your best friend is different from how you talk to your mom. Right? And that's, that's something that I've. You get to know people over time, right? And there are clients, some clients that are like, these are corporate suits and we talk corporate suit speak. And there are other clients who are like, you know, the friend that's sitting next to you at the bar and you talk to them, right? And, but you learn those things. Those are things that you have to learn over time. And you're right. There is an element of putting on a filter and a level of professionalism that's maintained until you, till you figure some of those things out. But.
- [52:11]
B
And I think you can still be yourself in every interaction, but maybe just not at 100% on the first cold email type of thing or, you know, if somebody does, if you're one of those, which I am very like the, the cheery, the happy don't need a thousand emojis in most emails if someone is going to come back with a concern or a problem, giving it space, time, honor that, put yourself out there, but also have your boundaries in place too. And I think, and that is also part of what I was doing when I was reaching out to all these people for the first time, telling myself that there is no barrier. J. Michael's incredible and he's built an amazing career. I'm not about to waste his time, but I also realize he's someone I want to learn from. So I'm going to reach out with that spirit of like, hey, I'm eager, I'm willing to learn, and then go and actually do that legwork as well. And I think people within the industry recognize that too. And they're always willing to honor somebody that's given their time and is putting in the work. Because when you see a student or somebody that wants to do it eagerly eating everything up and doing these things, you want to help that person 100%.
- [53:17]
A
So here we are, booking every day, apparently.
- [53:22]
B
Well, don't jinx it, don't jinx it.
- [53:26]
A
But you've gone through the stages. You've, you made the mistakes, you've course corrected, you've got connected to better people who have connected you to more people, right? People you've put in the foundations, right? You've built this voiceover career on what I believe now is a very, very strong foundation. So there is somebody who is Listening to this right now, who is two years ago, Sam, and they're trying to figure some of this out. Maybe they've made the mistake, right? Maybe they flushed their money down the toilet at the demo mill and now they're frustrated or feeling defeated, or maybe they're exploring and they're just not sure where to go. And it's really easy for guys like me who have been in the game a long time to say something. And not that that doesn't come with a level of credibility, but it's totally different to hear from somebody who's just been through it and is still walking down the road. Nothing to sell, nothing to offer, just an honest insight from lived experience. So what do you say to that person?
- [54:41]
B
Well, if they're literally listening to this right now, the first thing I'm going to say is, you're in the right place. Like your podcast. Go and look at those episodes. If you've just lost a bunch of money or you're sitting in that place and you're like, it feels so far away. Like, what I want to have feels so far away. It's not. You need to remove the barriers from yourself. You need to not limit yourself, not doubt yourself, which is very hard to do, but understand where you're at and give yourself grace to be there. You're allowed to be a beginner. You're allowed to be early. You're allowed to not know things and how exciting that you have all of that ahead of you to go and look for and achieve and do. So find, think about. Like, I think there's a way to do things with intention as well. So think about the things you want to do. I've personally never pursued video games and animation. Not to say I never will, but that's not what lights my fire right now. So the things that I was interested in, I learned the hard way. Do your research. Go and look at people who are working in that field right now. First of all, Mark's probably done a podcast with them. So go listen to that, and if
- [55:59]
A
I haven't, let me know and I'll reach out to them and see if they'll come on the show and hopefully they won't hassle me as much as Sam did to.
- [56:06]
B
Oh, goodness. Canadians are supposed to be nice, Mark. But I think it's giving yourself the allowance and the grace to be that beginner. Know what you want and then you don't. Just remember, you don't have to do everything. Yesterday, someone's gonna hear me saying this and call me up and be like, well, take your own advice. You don't have to do everything. And this is something I've learned as I've gone. Also, not everything is as big a deal as you make it to be. Not you personally, Mark, but like, like me coming on the podcast.
- [56:36]
A
Coming on the podcast wasn't as nearly as big of a deal as you had it built up to be of your head.
- [56:40]
B
Yeah, but no, I mean, like, I'm
- [56:42]
A
gonna release the emails with the episode, by the way, so everybody will see how the whole thing came, okay?
- [56:47]
B
So they'll see some light bullying from.
- [56:49]
A
I'm gonna turn it into a. A free PDF that everybody can download
- [56:52]
B
so they can see I'm here for entertainment. I don't know what to say. That's fine. But I think, like, giving yourself that not everything, that, that thought that not everything is such a big deal. Like, if you want to make your website or something, and a year from now you decide you hate it, okay, go change it. It. If you, you know, if you are like, well, everything feels like such a big barrier, like, then I need branding, then I need this. Then I need this. There are almost certainly free resources out there on that thing that's looming in your brain. Go do some research, go read about it, relax about it and just start. That's really it. Put your foot out there. You're gonna land on something and it's gonna be okay. I love that. I think, and I think I do. I know I do a bit of the shameless self promotion, but not in the way that, like, let's. I think not in a way that is obnoxious. I don't think I'm obnoxious. Someone might call me up after this.
- [57:47]
A
We'll put a poll up when we put the podcast up too.
- [57:49]
B
I think just like, great. Having a great time, Mark. I think that having, like. So I went to my first conference last August, right? And I think that it was phenomenal. I would highly recommend them. Now, not everyone's a conference person and that's okay too, right? Like, that's what I mean is I think that whatever it is that suits you and your personality, follow that because that's what's going to give you benefit if you try to take one person's advice and force it that way because it worked for them. Just sit within what works for you and what resonates if you're sitting here going, well, I don't want to go to a conference, okay? It's not going to break your career, but find the value that conference is going to give you find that in something else. Those things are still there for a reason. So still find connect, you know, do show up on social media. Coming from someone who hates technology and wishes we didn't have it in our lives except electricity. So. Right. Like just taking those things. I mean I've lived without it for a significant amount of time. Not right now, but previously in like literally four years ago. So you know, up north.
- [58:52]
A
It's true.
- [58:54]
B
So I just, I really do think that you don't need to put as many limitations on yourself as somebody might think. That's how I started out. It seemed so unattainable. It's really, really, really not. You'll find everyone in this industry is beyond kind, willing and gracious. You just need to accept that with a responsibility that you need to do some things for yourself too and get out of your own way.
- [59:17]
A
Right. One more question, please. Of all the experiences that you've had here in the last couple years, well, you've built this up, gotten ready, ultimately launched, moved into the next phase in front of buyers and agents and all of that sort of stuff. What is one thing that you have done that you had built up in your head that you stressed and agonized over, but when you actually just sucked it up and did the thing on the other side of it, you're like, oh my gosh, that was not nearly as terrifying or intimidating or whatever as I thought it was going to be. And I wish I had just relaxed and done it without all the stress and anxiety.
- [60:01]
B
Reading for agents. My first like the expectation I put on myself the first agent session, I did a couple of virtual X sessions before one voice, I think one. And boy did I build that up in my head. Like to me that was going to be the be all. He was going to sign me at the end of it. And if I didn't perform then I never would again. They're just people. Like they're just people and it would like. And then I got into it and I was like, oh. Like yes, first impressions matter. But at the same time I've learned, I've done a lot of agent classes in the last six months. They like to see you grow and learn. They are invested in somebody who is invested in themselves and it's not a one shot. Well, I didn't make it. I'm never going to do it again. No, you got in front of them. Don't go in with that expectation that they're going to sign you from that. Go in with the expectation that I have something of value to bring to the table. And I'd like to learn from you and just open the door. Don't like, kick it down with your foot. Just open the door and be there. And I think that, for me, was a huge eye opener. I got into the session, I thought it was going to be this big, and I was like, it was just a class. He just listened to us. He gave us direction and feedback. And it ended. And I was like, well, okay. What? Like it? All of my expectations were just completely crushed. And I was like, okay, so where do we go from here? And we do more, and we do more. And that really prepared me. And then meeting everybody in person at one voice, and it's like, these are also just people trying to do the very best job they can. I need to be the very best me in all of these ways we've talked about today. Build up all of those things. Take what fits, leave what doesn't. Move on. Just keep on going forward. If you keep moving forward, just do one thing a day that moves your business forward in whatever small way that is. If you just do one of those things a day, you can't get behind. You can't fall behind. Your timeline is going to be your own, and that's 100% okay. And the thing is, you don't know what's ahead of you that you're being prepared for. You don't know if you're going to get something two weeks from now, three years from now, that if you don't have all these experiences right now, you would be prepared for. So that's what I look at now like. I'm currently building a couple of really good relationships with some incredible agents, and I love that as people, I've learned more about them. Instead of coming in with that hot intensity of I want to be signed, it's really given me pause to reflect and go, okay. As much as I was prepared, now that I've started doing more sessions and paid sessions, not agent sessions, but paid sessions and working, I needed this. Last six months, I needed this. Even after all of that base, I needed my perspective to shift, and I needed that perspective to come back to. You need to be ready and have something to offer and not expect the world to fall at your feet. So whatever you want to condense that into, I think that's what you can take away from it. Don't give Sam license to talk. She'll do it forever.
- [62:58]
A
Sam, this has been great.
- [62:59]
B
Has it?
- [63:00]
A
I know that you were So I know you were so stressed out about. I don't. I don't know how many times you told me. I don't know what value I have to add. I don't. And. And you were so worked up. That was an hour of complete value add.
- [63:18]
B
I hope so. I did have a dream the other night that I like, literally, I was talking and no one could hear me, and then they all said they didn't want to, so. This is great.
- [63:27]
A
You're muted. No, this isn't. Zoom. We're good. No, that was fantastic. I think you've. Your story is the kind of story that people need to hear because there are so many people who are going through it right now. Right. Everybody's at a different point in the journey. And I can bring on Joe Cipriano and have an amazing conversation with Joe. And there's so much to learn from somebody like Joe. And he's got something for everybody at every level, no question. But for somebody who's brand new, it's really hard sometimes to listen to somebody at that level and feel like, how does this apply to me, where I am today? And so to have somebody who's going through it right now, today and building it from scratch and trying to build it all the right way, that's so incredibly relatable to a lot of people. And so don't worry, you added a ton of value. And I'm sure at least. At least a few people are gonna let you know that. So thank you.
- [64:28]
B
One more thing.
- [64:29]
A
Yes, please.
- [64:29]
B
Thank you. Something I did wanna make sure I brought up at some point today. When I started in 2023, it was still a very, like, Covid centric world, and it's now we've started to release from that finally. Thankfully, a lot of information I was getting was post pre. Covid. Sorry, information. And I think there's a big difference in that. So I think now also, our industry has thinned out, so I think a lot of people have returned back to their jobs and they're not necessarily pursuing it. So the newer people that are coming in and are in it for the long haul, it is okay. If it takes you a minute to get up and get going, that is normal, 100%. It looks different now. I can't go on vdc and be one of 10 people booking jobs and book all the jobs. Right. So I think that now piecing out all of that information that comes from all these places, and once again, if you're listening to this as a beginner, you're in the right place. Like, go do a deep dive. I am top 2% of listeners to this, so don't beat me, but whatever.
- [65:30]
A
Still a little disappointed that you're only top 2%. I thought you were more loyal, but, you know, whatever. I'll take it.
- [65:34]
B
Who the 1%? I don't know.
- [65:36]
A
I want to know who the 1% is.
- [65:37]
B
True. I just think that there's a difference now in the world to how it was before for pursuing voiceover. It is what you make it now. You can do whatever. You don't have to live in those big cities for the genres we're talking again. I do not wish to speak to video games or animation, but it is so accessible. You need to filter that. You need to know what you want. You need to filter that information. Go find it. Relax. Give yourself the permission to be yourself and to fail forward. I think that's just like if you follow those steps and you just do one thing at a time, how could you possibly go wrong?
- [66:14]
A
I have nothing else to add to that. I feel like that's a really great note to just wrap it up on.
- [66:19]
B
Okay.
- [66:20]
A
I'll have to bring you back again sometime. And we can rant about Voice 123 though, because we never got into that.
- [66:25]
B
Oh, no, we didn't. But we could. Yeah, we can talk about holding hands with gibbons in the rainforests of Thailand. We didn't do that either.
- [66:32]
A
Another episode for another time. We'll revisit in a couple of years when you've landed all of the A list agents and now you're at national commercials all over. All over the world.
- [66:40]
B
And oh, goodness, we're getting there. It's just. It's fun for. What's fun for me is building the relationships. I didn't expect that. I love doing the work, but I'm loving the people even more, to be honest.
- [66:51]
A
Yep.
- [66:52]
B
Yeah.
- [66:52]
A
Sam, thank you.
- [66:54]
B
Thank you, Mark. Thank you for pursuing me for this podcast.
- [66:58]
A
There are a lot of different ways to build a voiceover business, and I love the way that Sam has done it. And I'm so excited that she is finally starting to see that payoff for doing things the right way. I hope you found this episode to be insightful and encouraging. And if you did, can you do me two quick favors? First, subscribe wherever you are listening to the podcast. That way you're always going to get notified when new episodes drop. And secondly, would you leave a comment or a review wherever you are listening to the podcast that can help other people to find the show. Thanks so much for listening to the Everyday Veopreneur podcast.