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Voice Coaches Radio – #661 – It Ain’t All “Luck”
Voice coaches, radio, everything voiceover. Welcome to a brand new episode of voice coaches, radio. My name is Marissa and, uh, every once in a while, it's just a pleasure where you don't have to listen to just me go and, and, uh, dribble things out of my mouth and just, you know, hope for the best in a podcast episode every so often we get somebody to join us.
And today I've got, uh, one of our former students. Donna, who I, I gotta ask, what is, what is your, like, it's Donna Luck Martin, is, is your maiden name Martin? My maiden name is Luck. Luck, okay, cause I was gonna say, like, I mean, I don't know how many people come up to you still now, but it's like, uh, Donna Martin graduates, Donna Martin graduates, from 90210, did anybody ever do that to you?
No, just me. I don't run into too many Gen Xers. Just the weirdo millennials, sorry, but now you'll have to go back and see because that was a whole thing back in like the 90s. But, um, so I'm glad to have you hanging out with us and like, I know you were telling me a little bit off off the air here that you had just a really pleasant experience, you know, getting through the program and, you know, flexibility of it all and just the education of it all.
Um, what. What got you interested in voiceover? Because like I've seen, which is a little bit unlike some people that come through, you actually, you got, you did a couple demos when everything was said and done. So, you know, we'll, we'll get to that. But. You know, what sparked the interest for you and how long has the interest been there?
Okay. Um, well, a little background. I did radio back in the nineties and then I diversified my career path because I had kind of two things going at the same time and went into emergency medicine. So I was a field medic paramedic for 25 years as well as an instructor. And so the radio just kind of went away.
And then when this came up, I can tell you both sides of that, like you, you picked two of the busiest careers that you possibly could have tried to do at once, like radio takes over your life. And I'm sure you know you do anything medical that's going to just like completely take over as well. Yes, it did.
And I, you know, I liked radio I'd like broadcasting. But at the same time, it's a very fickle mistress. Yes, ma'am. Um, whereas, you know, paramedicine, um, I found a, I, I find, I, I guess I could say I found a calling. I found something that I was good at and I could advance and I could teach. And so that became my life for 30 years.
Okay. And now, now I'm looking at retirement and I'm, um, you know, when I went to this course, I was like, you know, I wonder if this is something I could do after I stopped working, working and do it part time. Maybe make some money at it and have fun. So yeah, because I mean, listen, if anybody knows that that fickle mistress is an enjoyable, you know, place to be, I, I mean, that's where I've, you know, spent the majority of my time is on the radio side of things.
And I know it's like, yeah, they say it's like, once you get bit by the radio bug, it's really hard to. Not want to do it in some kind of way. And so it's like, it's nice that after all this time you can, I mean, not, not work your way back to radio unless you want to, I wouldn't necessarily suggest that because it's even more of a fickle mistress 30 years later, believe me.
Um, but you know, it's like you get to move to a, a similar yet different side of things, you know, in, in this platform of voiceover and, and like the, I think the beautiful part about it is. You know, you kind of think you know what voiceover is and what voice acting is and then you start to learn more about it and you're like, oh, that's actually even more different than I thought and there's like way more than I could do and there's so much possibility.
And, um, you know, I think maybe, maybe your background is why they're Based on what I've seen note wise from like Tina and you know, in, in the instruction portion of your, your course program that there maybe isn't as much fear as somebody else has. I heard that you do some accents and stuff. Is that right?
I can, I have a pretty good ear for mimicry. I wouldn't say necessarily that if you throw an accent out at me, I could actually produce it, but I can listen to an accent and reproduce it. Okay. And I, um, and you know, some of them come easier than others, but I would love to just kind of explore that side of it because that's the real acting when you get into voice acting is when you're trying to become a character.
And I've done a little bit of, you know, community level acting and I like the fact that nobody can see me. Isn't that the beautiful part about it? Right? Yeah. Because I mean, half the time of people saw me in my studio when I'm doing stuff. I mean, you're seeing me right now and I'll admit I rolled out of bed.
Um, you know, I've been working since like seven o'clock this morning, but, you know, it's like I, I rolled out of bed and I just started because. That's, you know, I can, um, and nobody sees me. So it doesn't matter. It's not like I'm on TV. I'm just sitting in a studio by myself. Uh, if I stink, nobody knows. Uh, so it's, it's a beautiful thing.
Um, so you, you go through the program and I know that you had a great time with that. And, you know, then we, we get towards. The time where it's it's your time to do a demo, and some people they feel like more comfortable on one side of the, you know, voice acting world and then the other but, you know, maybe it is the fact that you've done radio before where it's like, right.
Sorry, we've got things falling over here. There's animals all over. I don't know if you've seen that in the background. Um, but somebody just jumped over a gate and it fell over. Um, so maybe, um, you know, the radio background makes you a little bit more comfortable commercial wise, but I know you did narrative as well.
What do you think is like your favorite part of all this in this moment? Um, I just think the challenge of whatever copy I'm going to be presented with would be the exciting part of it. And then as far as the, I would love to get into a tech book or audio book or something along those lines. Um, as I like reading out loud and I, I, You know, I asked friends, you listen to audio books.
What do you like most about your favorite narrator narrator? And they're like, Oh, we like it when they tried it, when they do characters. And we miss them when there's somebody else on that author's book, because we get used to hearing that voice. And then the comments people have given me on the demos, I've been very surprised about, because.
People are acting like this is like a huge hidden talent and it's like, I'm just talking. Yeah, but you know what? Um, I, I understand because you know what tends to bring a lot of people to us is, is the simple fact that they will listen to an audio book. And there's just something about it that makes them go, Oh God, I don't like this.
Like, you know, I could do this better. And while you're over here, like, I'm just talking, you know, I'm just, you know, I'm just talking, I'm just reading, like, you know, you're doing it in a way though, that to them, they can't produce right now. And, and maybe you couldn't either at first. But you know, you grow in skill, you have education behind you and an understanding that that they don't have and it is a skill and you know, and at this point, it's not a hidden talent anymore because you're putting it right out there and slapping people in the face with it.
It's a beautiful thing. Yeah, yeah. And I think the teaching background does help because you have to stand in front of an audience, regardless of your, your venue or however many people you're talking to, and you have to relay a message. Yeah. And so you have to, that's, that's a skill that you develop and learn over time as well.
Well, it's the public speaking aspect of it, you know, like a lot of people don't, I guess they'll come in and they think they have no. no experience or no background in this because it hasn't been like in front of a microphone or in a studio or it hasn't been reading a book out loud or whatever but in reality it's like a lot of the stuff that we do in any of our day to day career could be very useful in this and yeah public speaking or or or You know, teaching, you know, like maybe you're training somebody for whatever the job is that they've signed on for, like that training can be helpful.
Like, you know, you got to look at all the ins and outs, answering phones, um, and just the way that you are with that, that customer that's there. So now that you have these two demos. And you've gotten some great feedback, which is nice. What have been like the next steps here for you so far? I mean, when did you accomplish the demo?
When was that finished? Um, the 12th of September, October, October 12th. All right. So it hasn't been like a super long time, but what is some of the stuff that you started to like investigate as, as you are, you know, starting to maybe seek out work or opportunity? Like what are some of the steps you've been taking?
Um, so. I, when I worked in radio before I reached out to that broadcast network and I was able to make a connection and they were, they said they would refer me to their publicist. And so this morning, after I get done with you, I'm going to go back and make another phone call because on the 25th, I sat down and I made phone calls.
So I went to all the radio stations, the television stations and the ad agencies in my area and basically looked up their phone numbers and, um, I don't, I only spoke to one and that was my former employer's, um, One of the DJs actually called me back and, um, then the other ones, they left messages. So today I'm going to go and I'm going to do follow up calls and see if they got the message.
If they're interested, if they listen to my demo or whatever. Um, and that's pretty much it other than just reaching out and telling people. Hey, this is what I'm doing. If you come up with an opportunity, you know, I, um, the democratic committee, I worked with somebody up here that was running for office.
His, um, campaign manager is a friend of mine. So he's interested in doing something going forward. So that's, you know, nothing solid yet, but the feelers are out there, I guess. Yeah, yeah. Well, I just like that you have technically two business meetings today, right? Yeah. So cool. Um, but no, you're doing it right, you know?
And I think what's great is It's the thinking outside the box a little bit too that maybe you didn't even realize that you'd done like, I mean, I don't know how many people that have gone through the program and they're like, Oh, that's right. I've got this guy that I know who's a campaign manager and I'm going to hit him up and like, you know, cause that's a great, that's a great opportunity, um, you know, to get your voice as like, you know, the, the voice of somebody's campaign or just anything that they do.
Um, so while I'm excited for him. So if, if I'm going to put out there, like clearly we're, we're getting the feelers out. You know, and you've got some, we'll say, irons in the fire, if you will, and, you know, maybe some potential, like, smaller things kind of lined up right now. Um, what's the big goal? Like, if you could do, like, anything right now in voiceover, what would you think you'd want to do?
Well, that's the thing. It's, it's, um, It's kind of unclear to me where I should I focus in on one particular Avenue or should I just kind of put it out there to the universe to as many people that I can possibly reach and see what comes back to me and then follow that path. That's my question here. You know, and yeah, I mean, what I can tell you is.
It's good to explore all avenues, and I think what you just said makes sense, right? Explore all avenues right now. See what comes back. If it's consistently kind of like the same thing, explore that right now. Right? Because that's the path that's coming at you. And I am a firm believer, if the path is coming at you, don't ignore it.
You know, it's there for a reason. And that could be, that could be the, I'm not going to say low hanging fruit for you, but it would be like where you could potentially get that first gig, the next first gig, you know, and then get like a little body of work going and then it's like, all right, how can I expand this.
Um, you know, and that's when you start to branch out a little bit and I think, you know, the best suggestion for anybody that's just getting started is like, you kind of want to have an outline for yourself, but it's not just like an outline that you might follow right now. It's like something that you can follow for a while where it's like, And it's going to grow, right?
So it's like, think of what your small time goals are right now in this moment to get like the first initial work and do whatever you got to, like what, like figure out what's my, what's my game plan? How can I make these things happen? And then think of what the big goal is for you overall. Like, what do I want to accomplish?
If I, if I could do anything, you know, what's the, the job that would be like, all right. I've done it. And now I feel like I've done it all because I've did it, you know, like what is the ultimate and and what are the things in between that you can do those stepping stones to get to the big place. You know, it's so it's like a right now outline.
It's a for tomorrow outline, it's a just past tomorrow outline for the future, you know, and I think it allows you in that moment now to the best thing is like setting up the small goals. To reach each one of the goals that you have to lead to the biggest. Um, does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. And in the last Um, unit of lessons did a really good job of, uh, giving me those ideas about where to reach out locally and, um, who to, who to start to touch base with.
Um, I'm tentatively going to maybe start attending some local, uh, functions to try to meet people that can maybe help me out, um, along those lines as well. Um, it's just, you know, again, it's just more of a, okay, you just got to do this, you know, it's like a ripping the bandaid kind of scenario. And some people are really scared to do the things that you're already, you know, taking those steps to do.
So it's, you know, it's commendable to. You know, see the effort that you're putting, putting behind it. Um, because again, like people are scared to put themselves out there, but not only have you put yourself out there in this way to, to just even be here to have demos done, but now it's like, all right, the next step is getting myself in front of people and, and make sure they understand I'm taking this seriously.
And then I want to seriously move forward with it. Um, you know, so yeah, that's, that's fantastic. Um, but I think that you've got all the right ideas in order and, and because of that, that's why you've already. You know, you already have a meeting that you have today, uh, you know, and it's just keep doing that keep plugging along and just because you don't hear back from somebody doesn't mean that you won't, or that you shouldn't follow up like be annoying, you know, in your brain if you think you're being annoying you're really not because think about it how many people are getting pulled in so many directions these days, like that person might have been like, and I meant to reach out to her last week crap like I feel awful and then they finally reply, you know, so it's like, Don't even if you think you're being annoying, like be annoying, like, you know, and just and just keep moving forward because you're going to be your advocate, you know, you're going to be the one that fights for you the hardest.
And I think that you're already, you know, the fact that you got two demos when a lot of people come in and they just get one at the end, you know, like already showing like you're. You're a go getter, Donna. Um, so I wish you all the luck. You got to keep us updated here on, on how things progress. Cause like now I'm intrigued that you have this meeting.
Um, so I wish I could be a fly on the wall or a fly on the zoom or whatever it is. Um, but any, any additional questions that I might be able to help with before we go ahead and we part ways today? Well, the only thing that I kind of was left up in the air about is when I do get the call How does that, what does that process look like?
So say the radio station says, yeah, we've got this piece of copy. We'd like you to come in and audition, or we'd like you to come in and read for us. Um, then what does the process look like for actually getting paid to do it? And do I come up with what the fee is or do they tell me how much they're going to pay me or how does that conversation go?
You know, every single project is different and every, every company with every person you deal with, it's going to be different. Um, the, the best thing that I can tell you is like, you know, maybe if that is the scenario, um, you know, they might. They might ask you how much you charge and if that's the case, and you're not quite sure what to say, you know, you can always reach out to us because we'll help kind of guide you.
It's based on like, well, what's the timing of this project and how long is it going to take you to do it? And like, you know, um, where is it going to air? Uh, you know, is it local? Is it national? Is it going to be used on radio? Is it going to be used on, on radio and TV? Or is it going to be on the internet?
Like, I mean, there's so many different things to kind of Um, but sometimes, you know, they'll have a budget in mind and they might be like, Hey, we don't have like a, you know, a ton of money that we could pay you. But, you know, for this 30 second ad, I mean, is 25 bucks. Okay. You know, and it's like, Hey, it's your first gig.
Take the 25 bucks. You know what I mean? Um, you know, and just kind of run with it. Uh, especially it's like. 30 seconds commercial 25 bucks that that's pretty good. You know, uh, pay out pay there. Um, so, yeah, it is like a project by project basis. But, you know, as you have those questions coming at you, that's the beauty of, you know, working with us is that we can always help guide you, you know, so I don't want you to feel like you can't reach out and.
Be like, Hi, I don't know what to do, uh, you know, because we can, you know, always answer that phone call for you and who would I ask for when I do call is like the particular person because I can't just call and say, Hey, can I talk to David? Honestly, I mean, like, you know, we've got a Liza that that always answers the main line or Laura and and they might put you in touch with will or whoever might be available in the office, um, you know, just so yeah, there's always somebody that's nearby that can help.
Okay. And then the other thing is, is, is do I have to sign any kind of a contract with these people or is it just. Um, I give them my content information and they send me a check. Honestly, again, that's gonna be project by project, right? So, in a lot of ways, you'll end up being a contract employee. So, they'll probably just like send you a 1099 or something to fill out.
And then, and then cut you a check or direct deposit or whatever. Um, you know, but, cause a lot of the work that I've done, it's like, yep, 1099. Uh, you know, and you gotta go through the. The tax process of that, you know, come tax season of then paying back or whatever, but, um, you know, at least you're able to go ahead and get that, that check and go from there, you know, start making the money.
Okay. Yeah, because that kind of that stuff is all kind of left up in the air. I know, I know it's tough just because I think it's hard to really guide somebody fully on it just because it's always. It's always changing like, you know, the information is not necessarily always the same for every single project because everybody handles things differently, you know, and I'm sorry, but if Laura was to call me and say, hey, we've got this thing that we'd like you to come down and do for us.
That's the situation I would be would be like a 1099 form and then just do whatever project that is that they have me in mind for kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, the majority because like you're not going to be hired necessarily as like a full time, you know, employee or even part, you know, so it's like they just kind of contract you out and, you know, potentially 1099, they could just cut you a check.
It really just depends. You know, I, I say 1899 because like I'm working with a lot of different companies and I'm consistently working with them. So, you know, that's where it's like, all right, well, I'm kind of, it's like I'm on payroll, but I'm not on payroll. Um, so they have, you know, whatever they need to send, they have all my information already.
Right. Okay. Um, so yeah, because it could just come down to like the services rendered type of situation where they're just pay me for a service. So it's not necessarily a 1099 situation type of thing. Right. Right. Yeah. Yep. I'm looking at it from the income side of things because you know, New York State.
Oh, believe me, I cannot. I have to work in New York State. I have to work with Massachusetts. I have to work with Florida. It's like, I mean, I like when I see all of them, I'm like, I don't even know, like, I want to be able to do my own taxes at some point, but my math, like, my girl math doesn't process most things.
So I, you know, but I don't like paying somebody else to do it because it gets really costly because of all the states that I have to submit stuff for. Um, but, but yeah, I mean, we can help you and guide you with any of that. So, so have no fear, but I'm really excited for the future for you just because I feel like we, we, we got to go get it over here and you got a fire under your butt, Donna.
Um, and I'm, I'm just anxious. So please, you know, um, you can email me, uh, just any updates at any point, Marissa at voice coaches. com, but I'm really glad that we can. Now talk for a few minutes this morning and get to know you a little bit better. And if we've got people that are listening, that are like just starting the program or like thinking about starting the program, what would you say is like the, like leaving us here?
What do you, what do you think is like the best part of what your experience was? Um, that's the part that I, I just, the feeling of being family, this so friendly and cordial and, um, recognize. As an individual, I can't say the engineer enough that produced my demos. Cause I don't even know who did it because it was just me and Tina in the studio at the time.
And she dumped it into somebody's folder. And he came up with these two, they came up with these two demos for me. And I, I, I have to confess, I really don't like the sound of my own voice, but what he did with them, I was super pleased with. So, um, I just getting to the finish line, I think was the. the final thing in finding out that this is something I could actually still do.
Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, family and confidence building and, uh, and now a brand new door is open. So it's really cool. So, all right, well, thank you so much for spending some time with us today. We are going to have a brand new episode of voice coaches radio coming at you next week. You can go ahead and get more details about voice coaches by going to voicecoaches.
com. visit voice coaches dot c
And today I've got, uh, one of our former students. Donna, who I, I gotta ask, what is, what is your, like, it's Donna Luck Martin, is, is your maiden name Martin? My maiden name is Luck. Luck, okay, cause I was gonna say, like, I mean, I don't know how many people come up to you still now, but it's like, uh, Donna Martin graduates, Donna Martin graduates, from 90210, did anybody ever do that to you?
No, just me. I don't run into too many Gen Xers. Just the weirdo millennials, sorry, but now you'll have to go back and see because that was a whole thing back in like the 90s. But, um, so I'm glad to have you hanging out with us and like, I know you were telling me a little bit off off the air here that you had just a really pleasant experience, you know, getting through the program and, you know, flexibility of it all and just the education of it all.
Um, what. What got you interested in voiceover? Because like I've seen, which is a little bit unlike some people that come through, you actually, you got, you did a couple demos when everything was said and done. So, you know, we'll, we'll get to that. But. You know, what sparked the interest for you and how long has the interest been there?
Okay. Um, well, a little background. I did radio back in the nineties and then I diversified my career path because I had kind of two things going at the same time and went into emergency medicine. So I was a field medic paramedic for 25 years as well as an instructor. And so the radio just kind of went away.
And then when this came up, I can tell you both sides of that, like you, you picked two of the busiest careers that you possibly could have tried to do at once, like radio takes over your life. And I'm sure you know you do anything medical that's going to just like completely take over as well. Yes, it did.
And I, you know, I liked radio I'd like broadcasting. But at the same time, it's a very fickle mistress. Yes, ma'am. Um, whereas, you know, paramedicine, um, I found a, I, I find, I, I guess I could say I found a calling. I found something that I was good at and I could advance and I could teach. And so that became my life for 30 years.
Okay. And now, now I'm looking at retirement and I'm, um, you know, when I went to this course, I was like, you know, I wonder if this is something I could do after I stopped working, working and do it part time. Maybe make some money at it and have fun. So yeah, because I mean, listen, if anybody knows that that fickle mistress is an enjoyable, you know, place to be, I, I mean, that's where I've, you know, spent the majority of my time is on the radio side of things.
And I know it's like, yeah, they say it's like, once you get bit by the radio bug, it's really hard to. Not want to do it in some kind of way. And so it's like, it's nice that after all this time you can, I mean, not, not work your way back to radio unless you want to, I wouldn't necessarily suggest that because it's even more of a fickle mistress 30 years later, believe me.
Um, but you know, it's like you get to move to a, a similar yet different side of things, you know, in, in this platform of voiceover and, and like the, I think the beautiful part about it is. You know, you kind of think you know what voiceover is and what voice acting is and then you start to learn more about it and you're like, oh, that's actually even more different than I thought and there's like way more than I could do and there's so much possibility.
And, um, you know, I think maybe, maybe your background is why they're Based on what I've seen note wise from like Tina and you know, in, in the instruction portion of your, your course program that there maybe isn't as much fear as somebody else has. I heard that you do some accents and stuff. Is that right?
I can, I have a pretty good ear for mimicry. I wouldn't say necessarily that if you throw an accent out at me, I could actually produce it, but I can listen to an accent and reproduce it. Okay. And I, um, and you know, some of them come easier than others, but I would love to just kind of explore that side of it because that's the real acting when you get into voice acting is when you're trying to become a character.
And I've done a little bit of, you know, community level acting and I like the fact that nobody can see me. Isn't that the beautiful part about it? Right? Yeah. Because I mean, half the time of people saw me in my studio when I'm doing stuff. I mean, you're seeing me right now and I'll admit I rolled out of bed.
Um, you know, I've been working since like seven o'clock this morning, but, you know, it's like I, I rolled out of bed and I just started because. That's, you know, I can, um, and nobody sees me. So it doesn't matter. It's not like I'm on TV. I'm just sitting in a studio by myself. Uh, if I stink, nobody knows. Uh, so it's, it's a beautiful thing.
Um, so you, you go through the program and I know that you had a great time with that. And, you know, then we, we get towards. The time where it's it's your time to do a demo, and some people they feel like more comfortable on one side of the, you know, voice acting world and then the other but, you know, maybe it is the fact that you've done radio before where it's like, right.
Sorry, we've got things falling over here. There's animals all over. I don't know if you've seen that in the background. Um, but somebody just jumped over a gate and it fell over. Um, so maybe, um, you know, the radio background makes you a little bit more comfortable commercial wise, but I know you did narrative as well.
What do you think is like your favorite part of all this in this moment? Um, I just think the challenge of whatever copy I'm going to be presented with would be the exciting part of it. And then as far as the, I would love to get into a tech book or audio book or something along those lines. Um, as I like reading out loud and I, I, You know, I asked friends, you listen to audio books.
What do you like most about your favorite narrator narrator? And they're like, Oh, we like it when they tried it, when they do characters. And we miss them when there's somebody else on that author's book, because we get used to hearing that voice. And then the comments people have given me on the demos, I've been very surprised about, because.
People are acting like this is like a huge hidden talent and it's like, I'm just talking. Yeah, but you know what? Um, I, I understand because you know what tends to bring a lot of people to us is, is the simple fact that they will listen to an audio book. And there's just something about it that makes them go, Oh God, I don't like this.
Like, you know, I could do this better. And while you're over here, like, I'm just talking, you know, I'm just, you know, I'm just talking, I'm just reading, like, you know, you're doing it in a way though, that to them, they can't produce right now. And, and maybe you couldn't either at first. But you know, you grow in skill, you have education behind you and an understanding that that they don't have and it is a skill and you know, and at this point, it's not a hidden talent anymore because you're putting it right out there and slapping people in the face with it.
It's a beautiful thing. Yeah, yeah. And I think the teaching background does help because you have to stand in front of an audience, regardless of your, your venue or however many people you're talking to, and you have to relay a message. Yeah. And so you have to, that's, that's a skill that you develop and learn over time as well.
Well, it's the public speaking aspect of it, you know, like a lot of people don't, I guess they'll come in and they think they have no. no experience or no background in this because it hasn't been like in front of a microphone or in a studio or it hasn't been reading a book out loud or whatever but in reality it's like a lot of the stuff that we do in any of our day to day career could be very useful in this and yeah public speaking or or or You know, teaching, you know, like maybe you're training somebody for whatever the job is that they've signed on for, like that training can be helpful.
Like, you know, you got to look at all the ins and outs, answering phones, um, and just the way that you are with that, that customer that's there. So now that you have these two demos. And you've gotten some great feedback, which is nice. What have been like the next steps here for you so far? I mean, when did you accomplish the demo?
When was that finished? Um, the 12th of September, October, October 12th. All right. So it hasn't been like a super long time, but what is some of the stuff that you started to like investigate as, as you are, you know, starting to maybe seek out work or opportunity? Like what are some of the steps you've been taking?
Um, so. I, when I worked in radio before I reached out to that broadcast network and I was able to make a connection and they were, they said they would refer me to their publicist. And so this morning, after I get done with you, I'm going to go back and make another phone call because on the 25th, I sat down and I made phone calls.
So I went to all the radio stations, the television stations and the ad agencies in my area and basically looked up their phone numbers and, um, I don't, I only spoke to one and that was my former employer's, um, One of the DJs actually called me back and, um, then the other ones, they left messages. So today I'm going to go and I'm going to do follow up calls and see if they got the message.
If they're interested, if they listen to my demo or whatever. Um, and that's pretty much it other than just reaching out and telling people. Hey, this is what I'm doing. If you come up with an opportunity, you know, I, um, the democratic committee, I worked with somebody up here that was running for office.
His, um, campaign manager is a friend of mine. So he's interested in doing something going forward. So that's, you know, nothing solid yet, but the feelers are out there, I guess. Yeah, yeah. Well, I just like that you have technically two business meetings today, right? Yeah. So cool. Um, but no, you're doing it right, you know?
And I think what's great is It's the thinking outside the box a little bit too that maybe you didn't even realize that you'd done like, I mean, I don't know how many people that have gone through the program and they're like, Oh, that's right. I've got this guy that I know who's a campaign manager and I'm going to hit him up and like, you know, cause that's a great, that's a great opportunity, um, you know, to get your voice as like, you know, the, the voice of somebody's campaign or just anything that they do.
Um, so while I'm excited for him. So if, if I'm going to put out there, like clearly we're, we're getting the feelers out. You know, and you've got some, we'll say, irons in the fire, if you will, and, you know, maybe some potential, like, smaller things kind of lined up right now. Um, what's the big goal? Like, if you could do, like, anything right now in voiceover, what would you think you'd want to do?
Well, that's the thing. It's, it's, um, It's kind of unclear to me where I should I focus in on one particular Avenue or should I just kind of put it out there to the universe to as many people that I can possibly reach and see what comes back to me and then follow that path. That's my question here. You know, and yeah, I mean, what I can tell you is.
It's good to explore all avenues, and I think what you just said makes sense, right? Explore all avenues right now. See what comes back. If it's consistently kind of like the same thing, explore that right now. Right? Because that's the path that's coming at you. And I am a firm believer, if the path is coming at you, don't ignore it.
You know, it's there for a reason. And that could be, that could be the, I'm not going to say low hanging fruit for you, but it would be like where you could potentially get that first gig, the next first gig, you know, and then get like a little body of work going and then it's like, all right, how can I expand this.
Um, you know, and that's when you start to branch out a little bit and I think, you know, the best suggestion for anybody that's just getting started is like, you kind of want to have an outline for yourself, but it's not just like an outline that you might follow right now. It's like something that you can follow for a while where it's like, And it's going to grow, right?
So it's like, think of what your small time goals are right now in this moment to get like the first initial work and do whatever you got to, like what, like figure out what's my, what's my game plan? How can I make these things happen? And then think of what the big goal is for you overall. Like, what do I want to accomplish?
If I, if I could do anything, you know, what's the, the job that would be like, all right. I've done it. And now I feel like I've done it all because I've did it, you know, like what is the ultimate and and what are the things in between that you can do those stepping stones to get to the big place. You know, it's so it's like a right now outline.
It's a for tomorrow outline, it's a just past tomorrow outline for the future, you know, and I think it allows you in that moment now to the best thing is like setting up the small goals. To reach each one of the goals that you have to lead to the biggest. Um, does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. And in the last Um, unit of lessons did a really good job of, uh, giving me those ideas about where to reach out locally and, um, who to, who to start to touch base with.
Um, I'm tentatively going to maybe start attending some local, uh, functions to try to meet people that can maybe help me out, um, along those lines as well. Um, it's just, you know, again, it's just more of a, okay, you just got to do this, you know, it's like a ripping the bandaid kind of scenario. And some people are really scared to do the things that you're already, you know, taking those steps to do.
So it's, you know, it's commendable to. You know, see the effort that you're putting, putting behind it. Um, because again, like people are scared to put themselves out there, but not only have you put yourself out there in this way to, to just even be here to have demos done, but now it's like, all right, the next step is getting myself in front of people and, and make sure they understand I'm taking this seriously.
And then I want to seriously move forward with it. Um, you know, so yeah, that's, that's fantastic. Um, but I think that you've got all the right ideas in order and, and because of that, that's why you've already. You know, you already have a meeting that you have today, uh, you know, and it's just keep doing that keep plugging along and just because you don't hear back from somebody doesn't mean that you won't, or that you shouldn't follow up like be annoying, you know, in your brain if you think you're being annoying you're really not because think about it how many people are getting pulled in so many directions these days, like that person might have been like, and I meant to reach out to her last week crap like I feel awful and then they finally reply, you know, so it's like, Don't even if you think you're being annoying, like be annoying, like, you know, and just and just keep moving forward because you're going to be your advocate, you know, you're going to be the one that fights for you the hardest.
And I think that you're already, you know, the fact that you got two demos when a lot of people come in and they just get one at the end, you know, like already showing like you're. You're a go getter, Donna. Um, so I wish you all the luck. You got to keep us updated here on, on how things progress. Cause like now I'm intrigued that you have this meeting.
Um, so I wish I could be a fly on the wall or a fly on the zoom or whatever it is. Um, but any, any additional questions that I might be able to help with before we go ahead and we part ways today? Well, the only thing that I kind of was left up in the air about is when I do get the call How does that, what does that process look like?
So say the radio station says, yeah, we've got this piece of copy. We'd like you to come in and audition, or we'd like you to come in and read for us. Um, then what does the process look like for actually getting paid to do it? And do I come up with what the fee is or do they tell me how much they're going to pay me or how does that conversation go?
You know, every single project is different and every, every company with every person you deal with, it's going to be different. Um, the, the best thing that I can tell you is like, you know, maybe if that is the scenario, um, you know, they might. They might ask you how much you charge and if that's the case, and you're not quite sure what to say, you know, you can always reach out to us because we'll help kind of guide you.
It's based on like, well, what's the timing of this project and how long is it going to take you to do it? And like, you know, um, where is it going to air? Uh, you know, is it local? Is it national? Is it going to be used on radio? Is it going to be used on, on radio and TV? Or is it going to be on the internet?
Like, I mean, there's so many different things to kind of Um, but sometimes, you know, they'll have a budget in mind and they might be like, Hey, we don't have like a, you know, a ton of money that we could pay you. But, you know, for this 30 second ad, I mean, is 25 bucks. Okay. You know, and it's like, Hey, it's your first gig.
Take the 25 bucks. You know what I mean? Um, you know, and just kind of run with it. Uh, especially it's like. 30 seconds commercial 25 bucks that that's pretty good. You know, uh, pay out pay there. Um, so, yeah, it is like a project by project basis. But, you know, as you have those questions coming at you, that's the beauty of, you know, working with us is that we can always help guide you, you know, so I don't want you to feel like you can't reach out and.
Be like, Hi, I don't know what to do, uh, you know, because we can, you know, always answer that phone call for you and who would I ask for when I do call is like the particular person because I can't just call and say, Hey, can I talk to David? Honestly, I mean, like, you know, we've got a Liza that that always answers the main line or Laura and and they might put you in touch with will or whoever might be available in the office, um, you know, just so yeah, there's always somebody that's nearby that can help.
Okay. And then the other thing is, is, is do I have to sign any kind of a contract with these people or is it just. Um, I give them my content information and they send me a check. Honestly, again, that's gonna be project by project, right? So, in a lot of ways, you'll end up being a contract employee. So, they'll probably just like send you a 1099 or something to fill out.
And then, and then cut you a check or direct deposit or whatever. Um, you know, but, cause a lot of the work that I've done, it's like, yep, 1099. Uh, you know, and you gotta go through the. The tax process of that, you know, come tax season of then paying back or whatever, but, um, you know, at least you're able to go ahead and get that, that check and go from there, you know, start making the money.
Okay. Yeah, because that kind of that stuff is all kind of left up in the air. I know, I know it's tough just because I think it's hard to really guide somebody fully on it just because it's always. It's always changing like, you know, the information is not necessarily always the same for every single project because everybody handles things differently, you know, and I'm sorry, but if Laura was to call me and say, hey, we've got this thing that we'd like you to come down and do for us.
That's the situation I would be would be like a 1099 form and then just do whatever project that is that they have me in mind for kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, the majority because like you're not going to be hired necessarily as like a full time, you know, employee or even part, you know, so it's like they just kind of contract you out and, you know, potentially 1099, they could just cut you a check.
It really just depends. You know, I, I say 1899 because like I'm working with a lot of different companies and I'm consistently working with them. So, you know, that's where it's like, all right, well, I'm kind of, it's like I'm on payroll, but I'm not on payroll. Um, so they have, you know, whatever they need to send, they have all my information already.
Right. Okay. Um, so yeah, because it could just come down to like the services rendered type of situation where they're just pay me for a service. So it's not necessarily a 1099 situation type of thing. Right. Right. Yeah. Yep. I'm looking at it from the income side of things because you know, New York State.
Oh, believe me, I cannot. I have to work in New York State. I have to work with Massachusetts. I have to work with Florida. It's like, I mean, I like when I see all of them, I'm like, I don't even know, like, I want to be able to do my own taxes at some point, but my math, like, my girl math doesn't process most things.
So I, you know, but I don't like paying somebody else to do it because it gets really costly because of all the states that I have to submit stuff for. Um, but, but yeah, I mean, we can help you and guide you with any of that. So, so have no fear, but I'm really excited for the future for you just because I feel like we, we, we got to go get it over here and you got a fire under your butt, Donna.
Um, and I'm, I'm just anxious. So please, you know, um, you can email me, uh, just any updates at any point, Marissa at voice coaches. com, but I'm really glad that we can. Now talk for a few minutes this morning and get to know you a little bit better. And if we've got people that are listening, that are like just starting the program or like thinking about starting the program, what would you say is like the, like leaving us here?
What do you, what do you think is like the best part of what your experience was? Um, that's the part that I, I just, the feeling of being family, this so friendly and cordial and, um, recognize. As an individual, I can't say the engineer enough that produced my demos. Cause I don't even know who did it because it was just me and Tina in the studio at the time.
And she dumped it into somebody's folder. And he came up with these two, they came up with these two demos for me. And I, I, I have to confess, I really don't like the sound of my own voice, but what he did with them, I was super pleased with. So, um, I just getting to the finish line, I think was the. the final thing in finding out that this is something I could actually still do.
Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, family and confidence building and, uh, and now a brand new door is open. So it's really cool. So, all right, well, thank you so much for spending some time with us today. We are going to have a brand new episode of voice coaches radio coming at you next week. You can go ahead and get more details about voice coaches by going to voicecoaches.
com. visit voice coaches dot c
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa chats with former student, Donna Luck Martin! It was always an interest, it was almost the original path…but, life happens. So, now that she’s looking at retirement and she wants to bring the fun back with what could have been!
