Actors with Side Hustles: jazelle foster from “creatives meet marketing” on how to actually make money as an actor

Summary

One Broke Actress Podcast Episode Summary

Episode: Actors with Side Hustles: Giselle Foster from “Creatives Meet Marketing” on How to Actually Make Money as an Actor
Host: Sam Valentine
Guest: Giselle Foster
Release Date: October 10, 2024

In this enlightening episode of the One Broke Actress Podcast, host Sam Valentine delves into the intricate balance between maintaining an acting career and running a successful side business. Featuring guest Giselle Foster, founder of Creatives Meet Marketing, the conversation offers valuable insights into entrepreneurship within the acting industry, effective time management, leveraging social media, and establishing financial stability. Below is a detailed summary of the key discussions, insights, and conclusions drawn from the episode.

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Guest Background

Giselle Foster's Journey in Acting and Entrepreneurship

Giselle Foster brings a wealth of experience from her lifelong involvement in acting, having pursued her degree at Columbia University and gained extensive on-and-off stage experience since childhood. Transitioning from teaching acting classes and managing headshots to spearheading social media initiatives, Giselle recognized the potential to create her own marketing company tailored for creatives. This evolution culminated in the establishment of Creatives Meet Marketing, a comprehensive social media and marketing firm dedicated to supporting individuals in creative careers.

Notable Quote:

[00:06] Giselle Foster: "I wish I would have known that most people don't know what they're doing, that people are figuring it out as they go."

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Building a Business Alongside Acting

Integrating Entrepreneurship with an Acting Career

Giselle discusses how her initial foray into social media began with her YouTube channel focused on acting tips and parental guidance. Over time, her engagement with digital marketing allowed her to pivot her content creation into a viable business. By leveraging her acting background, she seamlessly blended creative pursuits with entrepreneurial efforts without compromising her authenticity or client relationships.

Notable Quote:

[03:10] Giselle Foster: "I built the business to complement my ADHD, my creative side."

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Time Management Strategies

Creating a Flexible Schedule to Accommodate Dual Roles

Balancing acting auditions and business responsibilities requires strategic time management. Giselle employs a "slush fund" of time, allocating the first and last 30 minutes of her day as buffers for unexpected tasks or personal needs. This approach allows her to remain adaptable, ensuring that neither her acting nor her business suffers due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts.

Notable Quote:

[05:07] Giselle Foster: "I have a slush fund of time at the beginning and ending of every day."

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Social Media Strategies for Actors

Maximizing Online Presence Without Overwhelming Commitments

Giselle emphasizes the importance of diversifying content beyond acting to make social media engaging and relatable. She advises actors to incorporate their personal passions and interests into their online personas, allowing them to connect with audiences on multiple levels. Utilizing platforms like TikTok for authentic, spontaneous content and Substack for written engagement can enhance visibility and audience connection without necessitating constant content creation.

Notable Quotes:

[24:44] Giselle Foster: "I feel like acting should be about one third of the content that you're putting out."
[26:36] Giselle Foster: "At the top of the funnel, you have to just insert yourself into certain conversations."

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Business Formation and Structure

Navigating the Legalities of Starting a Business as an Actor

The discussion delves into the practical aspects of establishing a business, such as forming an LLC (Limited Liability Company) and filing for a DBA (Doing Business As). Giselle shares her experiences with the financial and administrative challenges of setting up a business in New York City, highlighting the importance of understanding local regulations and the benefits of maintaining separate identities for different business ventures.

Notable Quote:

[16:55] Giselle Foster: "I named it Giselle Artistry and that name just did not fly, so we created a DBA under Creatives Meet Marketing."

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Financial Stability and Freedom

Securing Income Streams Beyond Acting Gigs

Giselle outlines how her acting income initially funded her business endeavors, allowing her to invest in essential resources like assistants. Over time, as her business grew, she integrated earnings from acting into her company’s finances, providing her with the flexibility to take breaks from acting without jeopardizing her financial stability. This dual-income approach has afforded her greater security and the ability to pursue acting opportunities without undue financial pressure.

Notable Quote:

[11:06] Giselle Foster: "After doing that for a while, I have gotten to the point now where if we do book an acting gig, it still gets funneled into the business."

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Advice for Aspiring Actor-Entrepreneurs

Leveraging Acting Skills in Business and Overcoming Common Fears

Giselle encourages actors to recognize their inherent skills, such as handling rejection and maintaining discipline, as assets in entrepreneurship. She advises embracing imperfections and taking proactive steps to grow businesses without waiting for everything to be perfect. By integrating personal interests and authentic interactions into their business models, actors can build meaningful connections and sustainable income streams.

Notable Quotes:

[21:05] Giselle Foster: "It's okay to say, hey, I want to try this new thing with you. Are you interested?"
[22:13] Giselle Foster: "Actors don't realize that your life is incredibly interesting, how you think is incredibly interesting."

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Conclusion

Empowering Actors to Thrive Financially and Creatively

The episode concludes with Giselle highlighting the unique advantages actors possess in the digital marketplace. By utilizing creative mindsets and embracing their multifaceted lives, actors can effectively manage and grow side businesses that complement their artistic pursuits. The conversation underscores the importance of community, continuous learning, and leveraging personal strengths to achieve both financial stability and creative fulfillment.

Notable Quote:

[29:46] Giselle Foster: "Actors have a leg up on everyone. Our algorithms have changed, and it has never been so easy for you to bid for connection with hundreds of people."

Additional Resources:

• Giselle's Personal Instagram: Giselle's Artistry
• Creatives Meet Marketing: Website
• Content Vault Download: Available on Creatives Meet Marketing’s website for free B-roll content.

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This episode serves as an invaluable resource for actors seeking to diversify their income through strategic side hustles. Giselle Foster’s practical advice and personal experiences offer a roadmap for balancing the demands of acting with the necessities of entrepreneurship, empowering listeners to build resilient and fulfilling careers.

Transcript

[Sam Valentine]

What do you wish you would have known before you started your full business?

[Giselle Foster]

I wish I would have known that most people don't know what they're doing, that people are figuring it out as they go. And it's not something that you wake up and you know how to run a business and you wake up and you know how email funnels work. And it doesn't have to be perfect in order for you to press go on it. And it hurts you more being perfect and pressing go than if you figure it out and build it as you're going. That doesn't mean don't be in integrity with what you're offering and how you're showing up for clients. But it's okay to say, hey, I want to try this new thing with you. Are you interested? And you let them know what you're trying and you press go on it. Don't wait until it's perfect.

[Unknown]

Fast Forward Productions the women are speaking. What's up guys? Welcome back to another episode of the One Broke Actress podcast. An honest account of actor life plus a few lessons I learn in the process. I am your host Sam Valentine and today we are kicking off a series of episodes with a handful of actors who run their own side businesses alongside their acting career. This is in conjunction with side Hustle Academy, which is our brand new course that launches in the end of October, October 21st to be precise, that teaches actors how to start, build and grow and keep on going a business while pursuing their acting career. I'm going to tell you more about that course later in today's episode. So let me tell you about today's guest. Giselle Foster and I have been following each other on social media for quite a while now. She and I DMs go back quite a bit and she started her career when she was a child, so she's been acting on and off for the entirety of her life. She got her acting degree from Columbia University and then she started teaching acting classes from from there she started to get asked to take headshots and then she started to get asked to help with social media. Lo and behold, many years later, Gisele realized she was on the cusp of creating her own creative marketing company. So now Gisele owns and runs Creatives Meet Marketing, which is a full scale social media and marketing company for anyone in a creative career. Yes, we do get into social media tips at the end of today's episode, so make sure you stick around for that because she talks specifically about how actors can use social media better and there's some really juicy info in in there for you guys. But she also talks about the realities of starting her own business, why she chose to take a university course, why she chose to take some time off of acting to pursue the business, and what the financial ramifications of having a full stream of income outside of acting has done for her acting career. She also gives us a little goodie at the end of the podcast. That's a free content piece for actors, so stick around. And ladies and gentlemen, let's get into it. Without further ado, please enjoy.

[Sam Valentine]

Gisele Foster, did your foray into social media start with your YouTube channel? Was that the thing that got you super involved? And then you just built it out from there and it became a business? How did it become its own entity?

[Giselle Foster]

Yeah, it started off with YouTube. It was mostly acting, creating content, teaching actors how to show up, and tips for parents of young actors. And my whole brand at the time was for actors. I was teaching young actors. I was teaching parents how to deal with young actors. I was doing self tapes, I was doing headshots for actors. Then I think I got to the point where I felt like I wasn't able to be myself online because everything was kid friendly, honestly. Then I just stopped posting on YouTube. It's still sitting and I'm like, I need to rebrand it. I need to come back and use the platform. But since I started working more in digital marketing, I've kind of used social media as a testing ground. So I don't post regularly anywhere, but I will post and test things out. So, for example, on TikTok, I'm a completely different person. I talk about LGBTQ stuff over there, relationship stuff over there. I think I'm at 30,000 subscribers or followers over there. It's a whole different version of me. So I haven't really used social media as much for my business. I think when you're working in social, it's a little bit harder to do social consistently.

[Sam Valentine]

Yeah, it's not easy. It's a big ask. Sometimes when the thing that you're working in, you don't do as well for yourself as you do for your clients. My clients podcasts always done on time. My podcasts, sometimes they fall a little.

[Unknown]

Low on the radar.

[Sam Valentine]

And you know what? That's okay. As I say, nobody's bleeding out on this table, so that is how they fall. But I want to come back to social media for actors at the end of the podcast because I want to get some tips and some info from you because I think everyone could use it, including myself. I love new information. But for your acting world, you have a full list of day to day things and you have meetings, you have work to do, you have, I mean, just keeping up with emails and like payments and schedules and taxes and all of that stuff. An audition comes in, maybe two auditions come in. It's a busy day. Legitimately and tangibly. What do you do?

[Giselle Foster]

So I have a slush fun of time at the beginning and ending of every day. So it's the last 30 minutes and the beginning 30 minutes of my day.

[Sam Valentine]

With a slush fund of time. Tell me, okay, last and first 30.

[Giselle Foster]

It's for the moments where I'm like, I think I'm gonna sleep in an extra 30 minutes or I think I really have some things that I need to button up and if I don't send this email today, there'll be a problem. That's the last 30 minutes. And so if I do get an audition, we'll either knock that out in the morning, I'll get up a little bit extra early, but I know that I have a 30 minute cushion or I'll move stuff around so I have that extra hour at one point in the day instead of spread out throughout the day. I think the hardest part for me still to this day is the reader part of it, but everything else is a place play on time and it's pretty easy to move those things around. And because my team is a crew of actors who like to do social media, I haven't been known to come into a meeting and be like, hey, for the first 10 minutes, I need you to read this script with me because we have five minutes that along for gabbing. I need you to run through these lines with me, you know, and I think when you're working with creatives, you can move a little bit more loosely in that way. I've even had sessions with clothes who are acting teachers and I'm like, hey, can we add 30 minutes on to the end? I want you to look at this self tape that I'm prepping.

[Sam Valentine]

I love this. So you built your business to complement your actor lifestyle?

[Giselle Foster]

I built the business to compliment my adhd, my creative side. The most beautiful part of my business is we have retainer clients and they're able to. Most of my retainer clients are being handled by my team. I do the meetings, I do the strategy, I review the content, but I'm not executing on the content anymore. So if I am to get a bigger client, I'm doing those fully by myself. But it also allows me to be hyper focused on email this month or hyper focused on AI. And that also allows us to put together something to sell to the clients that we already have for additional income. Because Giselle's hyper fixated on this thing. And it allows me, if I'm not interested in doing anything extra and I'm just not inspired by anything, or if I have auditions or if I'm out for booking, there's space and time built in for that.

[Sam Valentine]

Have you ever had an issue with a client who didn't like your actor lifestyle or your team's actor lifestyle?

[Giselle Foster]

It doesn't come up. And if it does come up, it's because they want to hear about being on camera and they want a private session so that they can get better at being on camera or they're sending me a video because they saw me on television. It really does not come up.

[Sam Valentine]

I think that is a huge fear for people. I'm also big about leading with the fact that you're an actor. So people know in advance that that's your life. Just in case something happens and you have to reschedule. They're not like, ugh, I never knew. You should have told me that you had other things going on. Are you open about the fact that this is a big part of your life?

[Giselle Foster]

I am, and it depends on the client. I'm not necessarily going to say, hey, I'm booked out. Just like I allow them to change the date if something happens on their end. I always felt like as an actor, you have to show up in a way that is better than everybody else, so that when you do need those allowances, people are understanding of it. So in my contract, it says if you don't reschedule by a certain time, it's a problem. But I know if you ask me, I'm probably going to because there's probably going to be a moment where I need to move you around. Also, I like to use the language of, hey, I have a potential conflict on this day. Let's go ahead and move you. Because I don't want to be waiting for the day before to know if I'm booked or not and have to move everything at that moment. I rather move it in advance. Also, we under promise and over deliver for everything, every due date, everything. And that's more about me just being a creative. And if I don't want to do the work, I'm not going to do the work until I find the inspiration. But it also helps with the career part of it too.

[Sam Valentine]

I think that that is so usable in every single job we have. Whether you're still serving at a restaurant or whether you're a barista or whether you're a babysitter, that under promise over deliver side of things and that doing everything better than your potential coworkers serves you so well. When I was serving, I would take people's shifts all the time because I knew it was a matter of days until I would have to ask them to take mine. So when that would happen, it would be a hard yes. It wasn't even a concern in my head because of the hard work I put in at every just in case. So I would never be the issue.

[Giselle Foster]

Absolutely. Sam, you're so much better than me. On the one chance that I did have a full time job, I remember being like, oh, my stomach hurts so mad. I gotta go to the bathroom. And I swear they think I was in the bathroom for an hour and a half. Because I was like, I don't care if they fire me the next day, I'll get a new job. And those were kind of like the breadcrumbs of, you have to do something yourself. You have to be in control of your schedule. Because those moments made me feel icky.

[Sam Valentine]

Yeah, if you feel like you have to lie and God forbid you accidentally someone finds out that you did lie. Like you also don't want the office to think you have IBS the whole time if you don't like let that live when it needs to live. Because you might need that excuse for real sometime. You know what I mean? It's like the old school thing where people used to be like, yeah, I have to go to my grandmother's funeral. And it's like, your grandma is texting you on your phone right now. So like don't do that shit to people. Yeah, but it's true that breadcrumb information of there needs to be change here because this doesn't feel good is something that we don't touch on enough. Because there's this implication with the actor lifestyle that it's going to be really miserable until it's awesome. And I just will rally behind the idea that I think that's such trash because I think it can be not in the pinnacle of your career and you can still be allowed to have a really good fucking time.

[Giselle Foster]

And what does that say for people who don't get to that point? You just stay in trashland. That's not fair.

[Sam Valentine]

I don't want to live in trash land. Giselle, I would have a good time. And I so agree. Okay, so talk me through how this has affected your financial freedom and your ability as an actor to do classes and headshots as you need and manage a workshop or take care of your online profiles. Like, what has this built in for your financial security?

[Giselle Foster]

I want to take a step back, though, because at the beginning of this, my acting work was paying for my business. I didn't have the money to pay for an assistant, but I knew if I booked this commercial that gave me three months of being able to pay for this assistant. So I wasn't taking money out of my paychecks as normal people would. I have my. My money orders for a couple of months rent, and then I'm taking the rest of it, and I'm putting it towards this thing that I'm building in the future. And after doing that for a while, I have gotten to the point now where if we do book an acting gig, it still gets funneled into the business. I do it all under the same LLC, different DBAs. Gives me an opportunity to take a break and slow down a little bit.

[Sam Valentine]

Yeah. And how did this affect you in, for example, the strike or this year? That's been a pretty dry season.

[Giselle Foster]

I'm just head down in my business. I made a point to do a student film with a college student from Howard because I was like, I need to act, and if I don't act in something, I'm going to, like, die. So I was able to take on something that was like a passion project and interesting for myself. But when it's dead, I honestly notice as much. And it's a little bit of a calm moment for me because I know not something's wrong because I'm not getting auditions. Nobody's getting auditions. I can be head down, and when something comes up, I'll know.

[Sam Valentine]

Just a dreamy world. I love that.

[Unknown]

Actors, I'm gonna interrupt you for a second, and I'm gonna hold your hand while I say this. The acting career is never, ever, ever going to give you consistent income. If you have been listening to these episodes, you know that for a fact. And maybe you still think you're the exception to that rule. And listen, prove me wrong, please. But because I know for the majority of people, that is not something that's going to happen. You guys asked for it. We have taken hours and hours and months and months to create it. Side Hustle Academy, the ultimate course to teach actors how to build their own side businesses and side incomes without giving up Their acting career comes out on October 21st. I just want to give you a little, little peek into what is inside of this course because it's a lot. Listen, you guys are all smart actors. You know that an acting career is built over years and years and years of work. But you also know that it is expensive. Between rent and food and living in your city, let alone the casting websites. Don't get us started on the casting websites, okay? We've all been in and out of that mess for a while. Getting updated headshots, staying in class, whatever else is headed our way. We know something is coming up next. We've all seen this business change and we want to be able to change with it. So what is truly inside of this course? We asked so many questions of all of the actors who follow us and you guys told us exactly what you wanted. You wanted to be guided on how to pick a side hustle. You wanted to be told all of the ins and outs of running a business, how you can do it while having an acting career. How do you showcase it on social media? Do you showcase it on social media? How do you market? How do you brand? How do you grow and scale? Or how do you keep it the small and simple? We cover all of this in the class and so much more. In fact, we got so overwhelmed with all of the stuff we were making for you guys, we actually made you your own website homepage that has access to tons of extra content, including how to make your own branding guides, how to price your businesses, how to calculate how much money you're making now versus how much you want to make in the future, including taxes and write offs. We made you a content calendar, we made you a posting schedule for social media. We tell you about emails, we describe how to grow. Also, Gabrielle has recorded meditations that go alongside it. Oh my God, you guys, I literally cannot fit it all inside of this ad. Like I said, we've been working on this for months and I cannot wait for it to finally come out. But just so you know, do not skip this part. Don't click the fast forward button. October 21st and 22nd are the first two days it's ever going on sale and that is when it will be the cheapest it is ever going to be. Because as we run this first session, we are including Friday calls every single week with me and Gab along with your own community homepage so you will be able to talk to other actors, talk about the course, talk about your businesses, talk about your acting careers and making them all coincide. This is the first time we're ever doing it like this, and I am not entirely sure if we will run every section of the course like this. Plus everything we learned from this first section of the course will tell us what we need to add to it to make it better. Which is why the pricing is as low as it's ever going to be. And anybody who buys at this price is going to get it in depth, definitely. So you get all the extra stuff that we're gonna make over the next course of the next few years as we grow and scale our own businesses. After those two days, the pricing goes up to 750 and it will be that way for the next three days and then we're closing the doors. And we're not going to continuously sell this because I think you know right now whether or not you want to be inside of this course. So if that is something that interests you, click the link below, get on the wait list because the wait list gets updated emails, so you get on the dot. Notice the day that we open this first sale. And like I said, doors will close October 25th and we'll see you after that. I cannot wait to finally show you everything we have been working on in the most intensive course I have ever made. I will see you guys on the other side of that. And until then, please enjoy the rest of this episode.

[Sam Valentine]

You said LLC and dba for our actors who are not yet into the business world, will you talk about did you start with An LLC is a limited liability company for those of you don't know. And then you also file paperwork for doing business as if you're using different names. And it's a little bit more inside baseball of building a business. When you first started, you're getting income from helping people with social media and things like that and taking headshots. For example, did you get an LLC or did you just collect personal income and claim it on your taxes?

[Giselle Foster]

At first I think New York City had like a limit of like $5,000 or something where you don't have to have. You don't have to even report. So I ran that up until the highest point and then I got to the point where people were asking me to come in to do photos, but they needed me to have a business. So I'm of the mind of unless you're living somewhere where they make you do it earlier, you don't have to do it until it's a must do now, especially with the buoy filing thing that's coming out with the LLCs, you can operate as a solo entrepreneur for a while without having to do any big paperwork. Now when I did it, it was in 2017 and I named it Giselle Artistry and that name just did not fly but for so long. And so we created a DBA under Creatives Meets Marketing so that that could stand alone as the business and any acting work still comes through Giselle's Artistry, which, by the way, there's a lot more issues with them paying your LLC than I think there should be. And I haven't really figured out the best way to always get a yes because it's not always a yes when it comes to acting and getting paid that way.

[Sam Valentine]

Yeah. Do you remember last year when there was a whole situation with getting paid into your S corp and all of those things? I think a lot of us heard it, but it didn't affect a lot of people at the time. When you get into the weeds of the business stuff, it's pretty cost effective, but it also involves a lot of paperwork and things like that. So I did the same thing for the first couple of years of One Broke Actress, for example. I mean, I was selling my $30 actor dictionary, which is still a really good thing by the way. You guys should check it out. I'll put in the show notes. But that was it. And so I just claim this income on my taxes and I take the standard write off and that's what it's going to be. It wasn't until I needed an ein, an employer identification number and that I needed to open a business bank account until I needed to do those things that I actually took action on them. And it's not that complicated of a process once you start. But I think sometimes that's one of the things that keeps people from like starting doing something because I think there's a lot of paperwork and there will be, but not right away. And you'll get to it when you get to it and you'll have a better understanding of what it is you're doing by then. And then you actually benefit when you start to fill out the paperwork. God. My biggest issue with LLC though is that how expensive they are in different markets. Because is yours based in New York?

[Giselle Foster]

It is. So you use a registered agent? I used one through Albany so that I could not be paying the high New York.

[Sam Valentine]

How much is New York? Because I pay $800 a year for California.

[Unknown]

Wow.

[Giselle Foster]

Do you use your actual address or do you have a registered agent?

[Sam Valentine]

I have a business address and it's.

[Giselle Foster]

In one of the expensive cities or is it outside of the city?

[Sam Valentine]

I mean, I think all of California is $800. Oh, I know, I know, I know. But I also we, the membership, we have a separate llc. We have a multi. This is getting really inside baseball. But real quick, the online membership I run with Gabrielle is through a multi member LLC because it's the two us and we registered that motherfucker in Georgia because that was a hundred dollars.

[Giselle Foster]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sam Valentine]

Very, very different. So you guys can do your research on that. That is the stuff that you get into that gets, I think it's kind of fascinating once you understand what your business is. And one broke actress is my llc and then my podcast production company is the dba. So Fast Forward Productions is a piece and it all funnels into the same place as does my actor money now and is kind of cool. The taxes are very different, which is kind of sick. You get a little higher in the write offs. It's a whole thing. But it actually gets you really in touch with your money. And I've never felt actually as financially responsible as I have when I'm running a business because I think I have to keep a lot cleaner books when other people are looking at them.

[Giselle Foster]

Yeah, I have a spreadsheet of every bit of money that I spend. That's a whole, that's a whole nother thing. We could get really nerdy about it. Don't get me started.

[Sam Valentine]

I know, I know. I, I, I use a budgeting software, but I also have a accountant because I can't. Listen, you guys, you don't have to be good at numbers to be good at this and to, to get better and to get excited about it. It's also like money is really exciting to get you out of the weeds of that. What do you wish you would have known before you started your full business?

[Giselle Foster]

I wish I would have known that most people don't know what they're doing, that people are figuring it out as they go. And it's not something that you wake up and you know how to run a business and you wake up and you know how email funnels work. And it doesn't have to be perfect in order for you to press go on it. And it hurts you more being perfect and pressing go than if you figure it out and build it as you're going. That doesn't mean don't be in integrity with what you're offering and how you're showing up for clients. But it's okay to say, hey, I want to try this new thing with you. Are you interested? And you let them know what you're trying, and you press go on it. Don't wait until it's perfect. That's also something I'm always having to remind myself about.

[Sam Valentine]

It's hard to remember because we're shown we live in such a visual medium. You also live in social media, as do I. I'm chronically online. So we see people who are just killing it left and right, and they don't know if you guys are watching this on YouTube. A bunch of my hair is, like, not even curled, and I only did the front pieces because you're just doing what you got to do. And it's not super glammy, but it also is just. It's really fun.

[Giselle Foster]

It's so much fun. I love being my boss. I don't like her all the time, but I love being my own boss. And I think what actors forget is we're great at it. We're great at so many of the skills that people do not have when it comes to owning our own business. Number one skill, we could talk about all of them, but number one skill is we're good at rejection. I hate to say it, but if you're an actor, you've seen rejection over and over again. You know what it's like to put out a bid for connection or a bid for a job and not hear anything back. And you've learned how to shake it off. You've also learned how to remove yourself and get out of your own way. So when it comes to you being a business owner, just like when you get to that scene, it's not about you. It's about the story. It's about the character. It's not about you. It's about this. This client that you're trying to help or this product that you're trying to get out.

[Sam Valentine]

So true. So good. We have so many skills that we could utilize in other ways. And I think I got. I. We could talk about this all day. What a course like Side Hustle Academy that we're building have been helpful to you in your process, or would it have gotten you off the ground quicker or validated you sooner when you started your business?

[Giselle Foster]

Yeah, I mean, I think the community aspect of it, it's itself, is so beneficial to see other actors. First of all, you and Gabrielle's presence, period, is inspirational. When I was an actor also doing a business, everybody was like, how are you able to do that? That's not okay. I used to get flack for it. And just seeing you guys exist, it would have been so helpful. And so I know in the membership you guys not only have these office hours, you're pulling back your own lives and showing how you're really doing it. And I mean, it's of course helpful to hear like the ABCs of this and the one, two, threes of that, but to hear somebody hear their mistakes and trust them and have them trust you enough to share your business with them and have them know you well enough to actually give you feedback about what they're seeing from their perspective. Absolutely.

[Sam Valentine]

Thank you, that's very kind of you. It's cool to be seen like that. Speaking of being seen like that, that's cause we're online and a lot of actors are online. Some of them hate it and some of them don't know what to post other than their headshots. And so while I wanted to talk to you about actors in business, can you please give us some solid social media tips for actors? Like for the actor who is just, I only have headshots, what do I do here? But I'm told I need to have a following. What's some good tangible tips for them?

[Giselle Foster]

First I would have questions. First I'd say, what are you trying to do on social media? Most actors are trying not to be forgotten. Right. Which is really the bare minimum. And if that is your goal, then free yourself up a little bit and figure out what you can talk about online. That's not just your acting. I feel like acting should be about one third of the content that you're putting out. So figure out things that you're also passionate about. If you're someone who loves to cook or you're someone who loves working with children, there are ways to implement those things into your social media in a way that doesn't feel overwhelming. I think that also helps free actors up because the biggest fear is, oh, I don't want to seem like I'm bragging. Well, if you only post about acting and you only talk about I'm on set, then you will sound like you're bragging. But if you be a human, just like the casting directors are begging you to do on a day to day basis, it will be a lot easier to digest what you're doing. Also, actors don't realize that your life is incredibly interesting, how you think is incredibly interesting. So if you do want to grow an audience, just make a list of the things that you are utterly obsessed about. Those things that your friends want you to Shut up about and figure out an interesting way to show up online. So I like using the examples of singers and musicians because it is the hardest way to show up online. Singers are stressed out about making content online for singers. My biggest suggestion is to figure out a episode that you can recreate over and over again. There's this one guy on TikTok who loves food, and he sings and he plays the piano. And so often you will see him showing a video that he's stitching. Now, the first green check here is that you're riding the coattails of something that's already viral. So when I come to your video, I'm already familiar, and I want to see what you think about this thing. Is it true?

[Sam Valentine]

Is it fake?

[Giselle Foster]

So he tries the food. While he's trying it, he's making all of these ridiculous, corny jokes. And then at the end, he plays the same melody that he does over and over again, and he does a improv song on what he thought about the food. He's not saying, I'm a singer. Come and listen to me sing. I'm a singer. Download my song. He does have those videos. But if we're thinking about how people are gonna find you, no one cares about what you're doing at the beginning. So at the top of the funnel, you have to just insert yourself into certain conversations. That's a great way to do it. Another way that singers do it that I love is when a singer will start a video and they'll say, do you remember when Mary J. Blige said. And then they start singing some of the lyrics that are coming off of a specific song.

[Sam Valentine]

Oh, that's such good stuff. How do you feel about different platforms?

[Giselle Foster]

I think everybody has a platform that they're probably better at. For me, it's TikTok, because if I'm making content, I don't want to do my hair. I don't want to look put together. I just have something ridiculous that I needed someone else to hear or witness with me. If you're someone who has interesting facts that you know, or there's something really specific specific that you can dig into, TikTok is really great for that as well. People on TikTok are finding you because of commonalities, because you're setting up in a room that they're already in. When it comes to Instagram, it's a little bit different. They're trying to do that, but their algorithm just doesn't work that way. So it's more about who you know, who you're attached to. And if there's something that other people that you follow have interacted with certain posts, that's when you're gonna see that content. When it comes to Facebook, I think the majority of us are using Facebook as a place to stay in contact with people. There are a lot of viral things that go on over there in terms of video content, but I think a platform that people sleep on is Substack. A lot of people are making good money on Substack right now. And if you're an actor and you're like, I don't want to show my face, everybody's talking about video content. That's a really good place to show up.

[Sam Valentine]

Note to self, to look into substack. Okay, got it. Amazing.

[Giselle Foster]

Oh, you guys will be great over there.

[Sam Valentine]

I get too excited. Also in the ADHD world, also get hypervixated. Oh, Giselle, this is such good information. I love that your business career is thriving alongside your acting career. That makes me so happy. And we need more examples of this. Where can people find you? Follow you, get things from you, talk to you. All of the things.

[Giselle Foster]

Absolutely. So Giselle's artistry is my personal Instagram handle. That's J A Z E L L E S S A R T I S T R Y. And then our business Instagram is creatives with an S. Meet marketing. And that's also our website. And if you go to our website, we have a content vault that you can download, which is really instructions for how to get your B roll folder completely full. So when it's time for you to post something, you have your own B roll content that you can pull from.

[Sam Valentine]

So I'm going to go get that right now because I can never have enough B roll. Thank you so much. We love that. Guys, go download it. Go support your fellow actors who are also doing amazing things in business. What do you want to say? What did we miss?

[Giselle Foster]

What we're missing is the fact that actors have a leg up on everyone. If you think about all of the people on social media who have audiences, you'll usually find out that they used to do drama, they were in love with acting. Something like that. Our algorithms as a whole have changed. It's no longer who you're following, how you see content. The hands are really in the audience. Before, when it came to advertising on billboards or it came to advertising on television, it was about gatekeeping. The gatekeeper is now the audience. And so it has never been so easy for you to bid for connection with hundreds of people. And I don't want you to forget that everyone, every business online is trying to find someone who has a creative mindset to create content for them or to help them with ideas. And not only does that mean you could work with them, that means there's such a landscape for you. Creating your own content, doing your own thing, creating the job you wish was booked for you so that when that booking comes, they know exactly where to find you. And not only that, when someone needs to advertise to the people that are already there with you, they will come to you first.

[Sam Valentine]

Can I just tell you that one of the low key things that actors sleep on that we are also covering Inside Hustle Academy is the fact that UGC and influencers can be full jobs and essentially for actors. And that there is a SAG AFTRA influencer contract so you can earn your health care and your retirement through being an influencer as well as it being your job. So this is like everything we just talked about.

[Giselle Foster]

And you don't have to post anything and you've already done all the work. You bought the lights, you did everything for yourself. Tapes. Use what you already have because I.

[Sam Valentine]

Know it's getting dusty. It's been a weird year. Turn on your ring light, guys. Everyone go. Turn on your ring light. Take a selfie. Tag us. Giselle, thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate that. Of course.

[Giselle Foster]

Thank you for having me. This was so much fun. I will, I will put my heart on the. I, I will, I will put my heart on the line Nothing stop me this time.