VOCS 076 | Coffee with Tracy Lindley

Summary

The Voice Over Coffee Shop: Episode 76 | Coffee with Tracy Lindley

Host: Andrew Morrison
Guest: Tracy Lindley
Release Date: May 24, 2024

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Introduction

In Episode 76 of The Voice Over Coffee Shop, host Andrew Morrison sits down with Tracy Lindley, a seasoned voice talent and dedicated mother of four aspiring voice actors. Tracy brings over a decade of experience in the industry, having voiced major global brands and founded VO Edge—a platform designed to help voice actors enhance their careers through LinkedIn marketing. This episode delves into Tracy's journey, her strategies for balancing motherhood with a thriving career, and her insights on building a robust online presence.

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Tracy Lindley’s Path to Voiceover Success

Starting Out and Discovering Voiceover:

Tracy shares her unexpected entry into the voiceover world. With a communication degree and an internship at a cable company during her junior year in college, she initially aspired to be an advertising executive. However, a fortuitous encounter with a producer steering her towards voiceover work revealed her natural talent for timing and inflection.

"I found that I had a natural sense of timing and inflections, and I understood, you know, kind of how things should flow."
Tracy Lindley [02:15]

Realizing the potential of working from home, especially as a soon-to-be mother of four, Tracy embarked on her voiceover journey with modest financial goals, aiming to contribute an extra income to support her family.

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Building a Career with LinkedIn Marketing

Harnessing LinkedIn for Direct Marketing:

A significant portion of Tracy's success stems from her adept use of LinkedIn. She highlights how she transitioned the platform from a mere professional network to a powerful direct marketing tool. By connecting not only within the voiceover industry but also with video producers, Tracy expanded her reach and secured valuable projects.

"I started doing that, but once they connected, I wasn't doing anything. And then I started to think, what if I reach back out to them and say, hi, thanks for connecting..."
Tracy Lindley [07:30]

Her proactive approach led to tangible results, including her first hired project, which validated her strategy and motivated her to continue leveraging LinkedIn's potential.

Optimizing LinkedIn Profiles:

Tracy emphasizes the importance of an authentic and interactive LinkedIn profile. She advises voice actors to view their profiles as mini websites rather than mere resumes, focusing on showcasing their personalities and unique strengths.

"You want to show them what you do. You’ve had plenty of people ask you over the years, what do you do for a living?"
Tracy Lindley [11:16]

Her course, VO Edge, delves deeper into these strategies, offering voice actors tools to enhance their online presence and effectively market themselves.

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Balancing Parenthood and a Thriving Career

Managing Time and Scheduling:

Tracy discusses the delicate balance between managing a burgeoning voiceover career and raising four children, all of whom are involved in voice acting. Utilizing synchronized calendars with her husband, she meticulously plans her availability, ensuring that her professional commitments do not overshadow her role as a mother.

"I live and die by my phone calendar and it's synced with my husband's phone calendar so that we both know who's doing what."
Tracy Lindley [19:07]

Raising Young Voice Actors:

Her children’s involvement in voiceover projects brings both joy and challenges. Tracy shares heartwarming moments of watching her kids grow professionally, such as her daughter’s dubbing session for a Netflix animated series at the tender age of six.

"There's nothing more fulfilling than watching them succeed."
Tracy Lindley [22:25]

Tracy also implements financial lessons with her children through her "80/10/10 rule," teaching them financial responsibility and generosity by allocating their earnings into spending, donating, and saving.

"So I tell them, you get to spend 10%, all yours, whatever you want."
Tracy Lindley [20:55]

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Strategies for Effective Outreach and Online Presence

Direct Messaging vs. Content Posting:

While LinkedIn has evolved, Tracy notes the diminishing effectiveness of content posting compared to direct messaging for securing loyal clients. She highlights the necessity of personalized outreach, advising voice actors to avoid generic templates and instead craft messages that reflect their unique personalities and genuine interest in potential clients.

"I think a more effective way is the direct messaging. And my personal experience has shown me that content posting is less effective than direct messaging when it comes to getting loyal clients into your client base."
Tracy Lindley [15:13]

Overcoming LinkedIn’s Limitations:

Tracy also addresses the challenges posed by LinkedIn's changing features, such as the removal of personalized connection requests for free users. She encourages voice actors to adapt by maintaining a positive outlook and focusing on meaningful follow-ups to build strong professional relationships.

"But then you start to think, what if I reach back out to them and say, hi, thanks for connecting, etc."
Tracy Lindley [07:30]

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Navigating Challenges and Maintaining Boundaries

Handling Interruptions:

Balancing a home studio with a bustling household often leads to interruptions. Tracy recounts instances where her children inadvertently disrupted her recording sessions, emphasizing the importance of established boundaries and clear communication.

"But one since she was born. And so they have learned very clearly over the years that there are boundaries."
Tracy Lindley [25:28]

Setting Professional Limits:

To ensure productivity, Tracy maintains strict scheduling, reserving her work hours from 9 AM to 2:45 PM. This structure allows her to dedicate quality time to her children post-work while managing her professional responsibilities efficiently.

"My day is 9 to 2, 45 in my time zone and I don't schedule things after that."
Tracy Lindley [16:38]

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Personal Life and Recharging

Finding Balance Outside Work:

Despite her busy schedule, Tracy finds solace in spending time outdoors with her family. She cherishes moments in their expansive backyard, appreciating nature and the simple joys of family life.

"I just appreciate being in nature. And. And we've redone our backyard a few different times to where it is just this absolute haven."
Tracy Lindley [26:37]

Hobbies and Relaxation:

When not immersed in work or family, Tracy enjoys household activities and traveling, finding peace in the simplicity of her routine and the beauty of her surroundings.

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Reflections and Advice

Message to Her Younger Self:

When contemplating what she would tell her younger self before embarking on her voiceover career, Tracy expresses profound satisfaction with her journey. She emphasizes the importance of self-belief and internal motivation over external pressures.

"You've got to create your own dreams. So I don't know, I guess I would just say you can do it."
Tracy Lindley [28:29]

Tracy's unwavering confidence and resilience shine through, inspiring listeners to pursue their passions with dedication and authenticity.

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Conclusion and Resources

Tracy Lindley's dedication to her craft, coupled with her strategic use of LinkedIn and her commitment to family, offers invaluable insights for aspiring voice actors. Her course, VO Edge, serves as a testament to her expertise, providing tailored strategies to help voice talents thrive in a competitive industry.

Find Tracy Lindley and Discover VO Edge:

• Website: TracyLindley.com
• Resource Page: TracyLindley.com/resources
• VO Edge Course: VOEdge.com
  Use code SAVE50 at checkout for a special discount.

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Andrew Morrison wraps up the episode by highlighting Tracy's stories of building connections, fostering a supportive family-business environment, and her generosity towards fellow voice artists. Listeners are encouraged to explore Tracy's work and leverage her insights to elevate their own voiceover careers.

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Listen to more episodes of The Voice Over Coffee Shop and stay updated by visiting veocoffeeshop.com or your favorite podcast streaming platform.

Transcript

[Andrew Morrison]

Voiceover Coffee Shop Episode 76 welcome to.

[Voiceover Coffee Shop Host]

The Voiceover Coffee Shop where we give you a glimpse into the world of the biggest voice actors in the industry over a delicious cup of coffee. And now, here's your host, voice actor Andrew Morrison.

[Andrew Morrison]

Hi there. My name is Andrew Morrison and welcome to the Voiceover Coffee Shop where we start our day with some of the finest names in voiceover. If you'd like to get to know more about me, feel free to check out my website @Andrew D. Morrison.com in this episode we have an amazing friend of mine and super mom Tracy Lindley. Tracy is a 10 year veteran in the industry and a mom of four up and coming VO stars. She has voiced some of the largest brands in the world and is also the creator of the VO Edge where she has been instrumental in helping others grow their career with LinkedIn. In this episode we talk about LinkedIn marketing, balancing parenthood and a career, the VO edge and creating a presence online.

[Tracy Lindley]

So how are you doing today?

[Guest Voice Actor]

I'm great. How's it going over there for you, Andrew?

[Tracy Lindley]

Good, good.

[Andrew Morrison]

Things are going good.

[Tracy Lindley]

So how do you take your coffee in the morning?

[Guest Voice Actor]

I get my stainless steel container and fill it up. It's about 20 ounces. And then I'll put in about 2 tablespoons of milk and 2 tablespoons of natural creamer and a scoop of vital proteins like that collagen stuff to give it extra protein and supposed to help your skin, whatever. So yeah, and that's drink it.

[Tracy Lindley]

What kind of natural cream are you using?

[Guest Voice Actor]

I don't know. I bought it at Aldi. It has like three ingredients.

[Tracy Lindley]

Do you find that the collagen stuff works? Like, have you seen a difference from before you were using it versus when you started adding it to your coffee or.

[Guest Voice Actor]

No. I mean, I'm not a bodybuilder, but I do know that women as they age are supposed to prevent osteoporosis with extra protein and weightlifting. So I do both of those things.

[Tracy Lindley]

Gotcha. That's awesome. So how did you start in voiceover? That is something I don't know about you.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Oh, how did I start? Well, I have a communication degree and a long time ago when I was a junior in college, I had an internship at a cable company.

[Tracy Lindley]

Okay.

[Guest Voice Actor]

I thought maybe I would be an ad exec. I quickly realized that was not my path. But while I was there, the producer asked me if I would hands me a piece of paper. He's like, hey, would you read this and we'll just play it on the Broadcast networks locally. Okay, cool. And I found that I had a natural sense of timing and inflections, and I understood, you know, kind of how things should flow. And I'd give them three reads, and they'd pay me my $20, and I was happy. And time marches on. I come to the point where I'm carrying around baby number three. I have four kids. I think we've talked about the fact that we're both parents and parents of little tiny voice artists.

[Tracy Lindley]

Yes.

[Guest Voice Actor]

But because, yeah, both of our kids. Our kids do voiceover, But I'm carrying in baby number three. And I realized, you know, hey, I'm not gonna do this for 20 bucks anymore. It's not worth it. It's too much hassle. And then the producer said to me, did you know that you can do this from home? It's called voiceover. And at that point, I had not heard of it. I. I live in a flyover state. That's not a job around here. I don't know another voiceover person in my actual city. There are some in the Kansas City area. Yes. But there's none in the small town of Missouri where I live. Okay, well, smallish. It's like 75,000 people.

[Tracy Lindley]

Okay.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Anyway.

[Tracy Lindley]

Gotcha.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Yeah. So at that point, I just started researching, doing my own online endeavors. Your podcast was not around. Many podcasts were not around in 2014 when I first started, so I had to do a lot of hunting. But there's still some decent amount of information out there that was really good. I'm trying to think, what the. What's the one that Chuck and Stacy are on?

[Tracy Lindley]

Oh, that one. Yeah, the. Oh, okay. Yes. I almost tried to say vo Boss. And I'm like, no, that's Angusa. Yes, Bo Buzz.

[Guest Voice Actor]

But I did and was actually one of the people interviewed back in the day. So I do remember watching her interview lots of great people. And. And when you live in a flyover state and you've got three kids, it almost seemed like this unattainable dream. Like, oh, well, I don't live in New York or la, so I don't know if I'm gonna ever make anything. But I just said to myself, what if I made a thousand dollars a month? That would really help my family. That would help pay for groceries. So that's gonna be my goal. And I just kind of started off small like that, giving myself ample room to be both a mom and a voice artist. And so I just, in the first year, did a lot of research, found out I was pregnant. With baby number four right before I laid down my first demo and I just thought, I'm gonna do things my way and see what happens, keep my expectations low. And I'm definitely not trying to be famous. I'm still not, not interested in fame or glory, just a paycheck and doing something that I'm passionate about. And yeah, the first year you go in the hole with your as far as income. Second year I did meet my $12,000. And then the third year I doubled it and got to 25. I remember that. And then the next year it was again double. And it just kind of kept snowballing. And by year five, I was at a six figure income and I just kept building on that and building on that. It's once you get to the 3002, you can't build on it as fast. But yeah, anyway, it's, it's awesome to be where I am on my own terms. My kids are all doing it. I love it. I work from home, life is flexible. And a lot of how I built my business came not from auditioning, but came from direct marketing using a free account on LinkedIn. So that's why I'm so passionate about LinkedIn. It worked for me, it fit my lifestyle and that's why I created a course about it. Because people kept asking me, how do you do it? I get that question a lot.

[Tracy Lindley]

Well, really quick, what was your original goal when you were going for a communications degree? I'm just curious, like, what did you want?

[Guest Voice Actor]

I had no idea. Police, any college kid know what they want to do?

[Tracy Lindley]

Sometimes I had to ask, hey, did.

[Guest Voice Actor]

You, what's your degree?

[Tracy Lindley]

Yeah, well, I got a business management degree, but I dual enrolled when I was in high school because my goal was whatever I wanted to do do in college. I wanted to not have to take the core classes. I just wanted to take what I focused on. And I actually went for a culinary degree.

[Guest Voice Actor]

I love that. Yeah.

[Tracy Lindley]

But then I started going so active.

[Guest Voice Actor]

In that one Facebook group I started.

[Tracy Lindley]

Like, I would go to find dining restaurants, I'd be like, okay, unless I'm like running myself ragged, I'm never going to make above $30,000. So this is, this is not where, this is not my home. But like, what initially drew you to using LinkedIn as your primary form of outreach? Like what, what was there something specific like, as opposed to like email marketing or other social platforms? Or, like, why LinkedIn specifically?

[Guest Voice Actor]

Well, I didn't even join LinkedIn until I started my voiceover business in 2014. So I'm not like this user from 20 years ago. I've been in it for 10. But when I first started on LinkedIn, I didn't understand it. Like most people, we just think it's something we're supposed to do because we're a professional.

[Tracy Lindley]

So.

[Guest Voice Actor]

So that's what I did. And I did do some research on how to get your profile looking as good as it can be. Because with some things I'm not going to research it. But when it comes to my business, I do a lot of research. I'm constantly listening to podcasts, watching things, going to webinars. I love learning, especially about what I'm doing for a job. So I did some research about how to get the best profile right. So I get that going and I guess it helps algorithmically. And I, I wasn't really doing a whole lot still with it, but I decided, what if I connect not just with people in the voiceover industry, what if I connect with video producers who might actually hire me? So I started doing that, but once they connected, I wasn't doing anything. And then I started to think, what if I reach back out to them and say, hi, thanks for connecting, etc. And I. So I started doing that. And then I got this response. This guy said, hey, I've got this video. Can you give me a quote on it? And he. And he copied and pasted the script and that was my aha moment and so ever. And I didn't get hired for that project. But then he came back around to me and did hire me and we still work together. So what, what I learned from that was, oh, this is a free tool. This is a direct marketing tool, not just a social platform or this place that you can get a job. Because I wasn't looking for a job. I mean, I went to monster.com back in the day when I was looking for a job out of college.

[Andrew Morrison]

No, I'll.

[Tracy Lindley]

I'll hop on Indeed and I'll find or, or any other job board and I'll go through and I'll look for like job postings for elearning developers because then obviously they have an elearning platform and I know that's a company that I could market to later.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Oh, very cool. So that's been effective for you, huh? With Indeed.

[Tracy Lindley]

A little bit. What are some. I don't want to take value from your course, but, like, what are some of those, like, core things that you do to optimize your profile? And has that changed over since you first started getting on LinkedIn?

[Guest Voice Actor]

Yeah, when I first was there. I mean, I've evolved a lot over the years because every time you learn something, you should apply what you learn. Don't just learn it and stash it. Right, yeah. Which, I mean, we're all guilty of that in some degree, to some degree of the things we know we should do. But if you do them, you might see results. And so when I first started, I remember having a terrible black and white picture that somebody had taken with me against the, like, I'm just. It was. For one thing, don't do black and white. You want to look as, you want to make LinkedIn as interactive an experience as possible. So, so one of the most important things is to look at it as, how can I put forth my authentic self that people can get to know? And I want people to think about it as a mini website, not just copy and paste your resume. Because you should never copy and paste your resume, for one thing. If it's exactly the same copy as is on another webpage, that's a strike against the Google and other search engines. They don't like to see duplicate copy word for word. So that's, that's one thing. Thinking about SEO, your search engine optimization is one aspect of putting together your LinkedIn profile. But the most important thing to think about is just making it a conversation, giving, giving a response to. If someone said, what do you do for a living? Basically, so you want to show them what you do. You've had plenty of people ask you over the years, what do you do for a living? I'm sure it's like the number one party question.

[Tracy Lindley]

Yeah, especially.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Well, if it's a business, if it's a business party, let's just say if it's like a networking event. So LinkedIn to me is one big networking event. And if more people thought of it that way, they would be less uptight about their picture, their graphic, their wording. They would just have more fun with it. And so that's what I tried to do. I'm actually in the process of revamping my entire course and so I sent out a survey to everyone who's taken it. And one of the main things I'm hearing is that people enjoy my personality as I'm teaching the course. And I had not even thought of that as a plus, but I, I'm thinking about that as what? How can other people take that information and use it too? Your personality is what makes you unique and valuable. So try to portray that as much as possible on LinkedIn. And be an interesting person.

[Tracy Lindley]

And how much direct outreach in like a week do you generally do? Like, do you set goals for how much you want to reach out to a certain number of new prospects or follow up with old ones or.

[Guest Voice Actor]

At my stage in my career now, I'm not doing as much outreach because I'm at the point now where clients are referring me to clients and I don't have to put in as much effort. But at the beginning, when I realized this was a powerful tool, my goal was 20 people a day, 20 new outreaches. And back when I was starting it, you could personalize the invitations like the connection requests. And now LinkedIn has taken that feature away for free users. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it. I've complained and I've encouraged other people to complain to customer support, but now it's a paid feature. I know, right? Yeah. But if you look at it a different way, more glass half full kind of way, you can think, well, all I have to do then is put in my search terms and then click connect 20 times and I'm done for the day. But then it's also your responsibility to follow up with people once they connect back with you, have some sort of template ready or a formula of what you want to say so that you can try to start a business relationship with that person.

[Tracy Lindley]

Well, how do you create those templates and still stand out? Because, I mean, a lot of people, especially what I've seen recently is a lot of people have been coming back and saying, this sounds like it's templated. This sounds like the same message that I'm getting from 10 other voiceover artists, even if it's something as simple as, hi, I was just curious how you guys source voiceover talent. My name is blah, blah, blah. And now how are you initiating that conversation and putting your personality out there without it sounding as much like a template?

[Guest Voice Actor]

I think to some degree we're all going to have to have somewhat the same messaging because we're all asking basically for the same thing, please hire me. But the way you say something can be unique. And so I try to get people to think of a common ground statement or compliment at the beginning that they can use that shows that they have actually looked through that person's profile or gone to their website. Something that helps you stand out is by personalizing it as much as possible. Sometimes people don't give you a lot to work with. They're not that active on LinkedIn. But that's the beauty of LinkedIn is that once you're connected with somebody, you can correspond as much as you want in direct messaging. And I have started to try to create more content to put out as posting, but honestly, I'm just exhausted and I just go in spurts. As far as whether I feel motivated to post on LinkedIn or not, I think a more effective way is the direct messaging. And my personal experience has shown me that content posting is less effective than direct messaging when it comes to getting loyal clients into your client base.

[Tracy Lindley]

Right. Well, you talked about how they're limiting the amount of messages you can send to new connects and how that's a detriment. But has there been any new features within LinkedIn that you've noticed that have actually helped you leverage getting your personality out there more?

[Guest Voice Actor]

Well, I can tell you that they used to have a video that you could put behind your profile picture and you could either click it or it would at least show sort of a little preview of it. For some reason, they took that away too. And I thought that was an incredible tool because video is so much more powerful than audio or especially print. And so because video is so powerful to reach people, I thought that was a great feature, and then they took it away. And I don't have any favorite things now because that was my favorite thing. I don't like what LinkedIn is doing half the time, but I have to roll with it, stay positive about it, and just make it my own.

[Tracy Lindley]

Well, what does your workday even look like now that you're not sending as many new messages? Like, I mean, I know you juggle voice acting in your course and being a rock star mom. Like, what. What is your general voiceover workday look like?

[Guest Voice Actor]

You know, I mean, you probably know too, Andrew, there's no one day that.

[Tracy Lindley]

Yes, but sometimes there's a structure that you reach for to stay productive. And I'm just curious what that structure is.

[Guest Voice Actor]

I'm actually one of those people that appreciates variation and not doing exactly the same thing. But there's not a day that goes by that I don't have some sort of project to record or usually live stuff. This morning I had a. A project I recorded live with someone. And then I'm doing this interview with you in the afternoon. And in between, I'm doing a lot of administrative things. I've got auditions. I am. I am also the director of education at nava, the national association of Voice Actors. So now I'm volunteering some of my time for that, you know, and tomorrow I have a casino that I'M their voice. So we're meeting in the morning and, you know, the list goes on. But there's. There's always going to be a recording session on a daily basis, right? And there's always going to be auditions on a daily basis. My LA agent, dpn, sends me a lot of stuff and then I've got my talent manager, Celia Siegel management, that sends me things too. So I don't know, sometimes I'm not sure exactly where the day goes. It's one of those things too where I'm pretty careful to set boundaries so that I can be 100% mom and 100% voiceover. So my day is 9 to 2, 45 in my time zone and I don't schedule things after that. Occasionally I'll. I'll do meetings for Nava, but I don't schedule client meetings or any other recordings that require me to be inaccessible to my kids where they cannot come and bother me. I don't want to do that because I've already missed seeing them all day at school. So when they. I'm the one that picks them up and I'm the one that brings them a snack and like they eat it in the car on the way home because don't you remember being so hungry after school? Yes, I was always hungry because you eat lunch at like 11, so by three you're just ready to eat your arm.

[Tracy Lindley]

Have you hooked them onto our Reese's Animal Cracker addiction with oh my gosh.

[Guest Voice Actor]

I bought one bag of those.

[Tracy Lindley]

They're so good.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Instantly gone.

[Andrew Morrison]

Mine too.

[Tracy Lindley]

That's why I can't buy another bag.

[Guest Voice Actor]

I cannot buy. I really don't want to put more sugar into my life, especially on a regular basis. Like they're not going on the grocery.

[Tracy Lindley]

List with your kids booking in vo, do you ever have times where they book and so that conflicts with your working schedule?

[Guest Voice Actor]

I just know what my schedule is. I live and die by my phone calendar and it's synced with my husband's phone calendar so that we both know who's doing what. So I know if I'm going to double book myself. So when people ask me for avails, I'll give them my avails. And then I know that I can take my kids out of school if I need to. We go to a private Christian school and they, the teachers are very understanding because my kids do book stuff. The kids work regularly with iHeart and Pandora and right now my middle daughter has a really cool big VR project that's going to pay really Nicely and be a really cool opportunity for her. So right now I'm still in limbo, waiting for them to schedule that. And it keeps getting pushed. I don't know why. That's life. Right? They want your avails for this week and now we're going to push it to this week and now it's the next week. Sometimes that's the way it goes.

[Tracy Lindley]

Do you ever have to tell them not to talk about money at school? Because I have that problem with my son where he'll be like, yeah, I just made blah, blah, blah, this voiceover job. I'm like, no, you don't need to be telling people your finances.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Yeah, we've had that conversation. It's, I mean, that's just a social norm that kids are still understanding the concept of. We don't talk about how much money this project made or whatever. Yeah. Especially since you don't want other kids to think that they're greedy or materialistic and, and you know, things like that. And they do always ask me how much it pays, though. But I'm like, hey, I'm your manager. It's a fair rate.

[Tracy Lindley]

Now I've actually implemented your method with my kids, but just for audio podcasts, say, what is your 80, 1010 rule?

[Guest Voice Actor]

Okay, so you heard me talk about this at VO Atlanta. Yes.

[Tracy Lindley]

And now I use it.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Good. I love that.

[Tracy Lindley]

Great. It's so great.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Okay, so here's my rule for the kids when they make money. We all know kids don't have bills. So I tell them, you get to spend 10%, all yours, whatever you want. And I usually set a dollar limit, like if it's a. If if they made over $500 and there's going in the 10% is more than 50 bucks. I'm kind of chintzy and I don't let them spend more than that unless they have something really important they want to buy. So 10%. And then I have them contribute 10% to either an, a non profit organization or ministry, some sort of charity of their choice. They can spend that 10% and give it away. I want to teach my kids to be generous. And then the 80% is saving and they don't touch that. They don't get to take that savings out. And we're also at the stage now where our seventh and ninth graders are interested in investing. So we've been able to take that money and they get to invest it and learn about stocks and portfolios and all this fun stuff that I'm, you know, I'm still learning as an adult, we're trying. My husband loves to talk about. He loves to look at economics and money. So he's the guy that does all that and I'm the. So. So we both have a really important role in our kids financial success.

[Tracy Lindley]

That's awesome. So what have, what have been some of those really awestruck moments of like watching your kids professionalism grow as they dive further into this industry.

[Guest Voice Actor]

I think whenever I see them do a long session or. What comes to mind is initially when my daughter had a dubbing session. She was 6 at the time. Yes. And these dubbing sessions are very difficult because you now. She was speaking in English and so was the person she was dubbing over, but they were British English.

[Tracy Lindley]

Oh, okay.

[Guest Voice Actor]

This was for an animated show that's on Netflix and she was only doing. She was In, I think eight out of the 12 mini episodes that make up the one longer episode that they, they show. And the sessions would be two hours. And it was fairly late at night sometimes because of Pacific versus Central time, we had to be later. And so the session might start at 6:00 our time. And I like to try to put the kids to bed around 8. Not that I'm successful half the time. They're usually awake till nine. Right. I start earlier, but it never seems to work. Thank God summer's almost here. But I would say seeing their stamina, seeing my daughter's stamina at that moment made me so proud. And I will absolutely cry at the drop of a hat when it comes to that kind of thing. When I, when she was done and I pulled her to me and I just gave her a big hug and I was like, I'm so proud of you. And here's why. It just. There's nothing more fulfilling than watching them succeed. And you know that as a parent I could, I could care less about every accomplishment I've ever had. If I see them succeed, it far outweighs anything I've ever done.

[Tracy Lindley]

Absolutely. Have your kids just being outside of the booth, have they ever led to like any bloopers in your audio?

[Guest Voice Actor]

Oh, I have lots of stuff like that. One of them, I. Again with the little girl. My littlest, she's eight now, but when she was a little bit younger she had this, she had this audition or job, I don't remember which one it was. But I recorded her and she had to be a kid asking a bunch of questions. And one of them was so it was like, why is the grass green? Why is the sky blue? Where do babies come from? And she goes, I know where babies come from. They're in your belly. Like, she knew everything. And I have that on file. Things like that I love.

[Tracy Lindley]

No, I meant like, into your audio. So, like, personally, I've had times where I've had to do, like, deep, dark, like, monster video game sessions. And so you would just hear this growling noise and then my son would open the door because I was making, like, deep, hurtful noises and be like, hey, dad, are you okay in the.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Middle of the session?

[Tracy Lindley]

So I was curious if you had those kinds of moments where they check on you during a session.

[Guest Voice Actor]

I don't do that kind of audio. I do remember one. Like, I don't do a lot of animation or.

[Tracy Lindley]

No, I just meant, like, kids jumping in while you're in the middle of a session to check on you for whatever reason. Or any bloopers from them just yelling at each other on the other side of the house or outside the booth.

[Guest Voice Actor]

There's been very few times that I've had to stop a session. I can only think of two where I had to stop a session and go tell the kids they were being way too loud because I've done this business since they were little, tiny, and. And one since she was born. And so they have learned very clearly over the years that there are boundaries. And I communicate with them very clearly. Like, I have a session. You cannot come get me unless someone has broken a bone or is bleeding profusely or something of that nature where it's an emergency. You needing a snack is not an emergency.

[Tracy Lindley]

Right?

[Guest Voice Actor]

Come downstairs. So I always check on them, like, say, I need anything. What are you going to do? Okay, you guys can watch a show or what have you, you know, or finish your homework. This is what I expect while I'm done, you know. So now I do remember when I was recording some. I think it was medical narration on my own. I was doing one, blah, blah, blah, two, blah, blah, blah, and I hear my daughter. Three, four. I have. I have that somewhere, too.

[Tracy Lindley]

I need a copy of that.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Oh, man, there's a file somewhere. Yeah, but. Oh, that stuff is priceless.

[Tracy Lindley]

So outside of Bl. Like, how do you recharge your batteries? Like, how. What do you enjoy doing? Doing. What are things that you.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Andrew, I don't know how. I don't get a lot of free time, but when I. I mean, a nice day for me is just spending time like on. On this weekend. I've been dealing with a slight cold. And then my daughter dislocated her Elbow on Friday night. And so take not. None of that is good, but what good came out of it was just sitting outside on the. We have this gorgeous backyard and, like, a pavilion thing, and just sitting in the soft outdoor furniture, just enjoying nature. The cat is walking around, occasionally jumping on her lap. The birds are doing their thing. The sun is shining. I. I just appreciate being in nature. And. And we've redone our backyard a few different times to where it is just this absolute haven. We live on four acres of land. There's a little lake out back. There's fruit trees. There's. We have different garden areas. Like, we just love sitting out in our backyard or doing stuff around the house. I'm a pretty simple girl. I just like to enjoy my family and hang out outside. I mean, but when I'm traveling, I love to go do fun things. But when I'm in my normal life, I don't really do a lot of stuff. I just hang out with my family because that's what's important to me.

[Tracy Lindley]

Yeah. Okay. So if you could go back to the beginning of 2014, before you jumped into voiceover and send a letter back to yourself, what would you tell your past self?

[Guest Voice Actor]

So tell myself, before I started my career.

[Tracy Lindley]

Yes. From where you're sitting now, I don't.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Know, because I never would have believed I've gotten as far as I have. I just wanted to make a thousand dollars a month, 250 a week to help with groceries. I never would have believed that I could achieve what I have achieved. I think that I. I don't know, because I'm. I wouldn't change anything. I have no regrets. There's nothing I would really do differently because the first conference that I ever went to really sort of changed the trajectory of my entire career, and I almost didn't go. So I guess I don't need to tell that girl to go to the conference, because I did go, but I had to wean my baby to go like she was breastfeeding, and I had to decide we're done now at 15 months, which is plenty of time, I think. I. I mean, I was like, I'm good. I've crossed what pediatricians tell you to do. I don't know. I can't answer a question because I'm really happy with the way that things have gone. And I've learned over the years to just believe in yourself. Don't externally expect someone else to push you. It has to be an internal fire. You've got to want it. You've got to create your own dreams. So I don't know, I guess I would just say you can do it.

[Tracy Lindley]

That's awesome. So where can people find you and where can people find your course?

[Guest Voice Actor]

So I'm@tracy Lindley.com. not very challenging. I snagged that URL. Yeah, so that's my website for my voiceover stuff. And then I actually have a cool. If anybody is interested in researching more about things in the industry or checking out different podcasts and stuff, I do have a resource page. So it's Tracy Lindley.com resources and then my course is the voedge.com for voice actors.

[Tracy Lindley]

Awesome. Well, thanks for coming on. This has been a blast.

[Guest Voice Actor]

Yeah, it's really nice to talk to you. I don't know where the time went. It's gone.

[Andrew Morrison]

I really hope you enjoyed Tracy's stories of building connections, creating a family ecosystem of a business, and the amount of warmth and generosity she puts into other talent. If you'd like to check out Tracy's work, you can visit tracylinley Dot. And for her course on how to optimize your career on LinkedIn, you can check out thevioedge.com and as a special treat, she was kind enough to give us a discount. Use code SAVE50 when you reach her checkout page. And it's a lot of fun to watch while eating Reese's animal crackers. Thank you for listening and I'll catch you in the next one.

[Voiceover Coffee Shop Host]

Thank you for listening to the Voiceover Coffee Shop. For more information on guests, new episodes and more, be sure to visit veo coffeeshop.com and our YouTube channel or your favorite podcast streaming platform. You know you want to.