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Generous Networker

How to Be A Generous Networker

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Anyone you meet could end up being a vital link to a completely different level of success. You never know the people and contacts who will change your life or your career for the better. Looking at new people through this lens is exciting– but a word of caution. Relationships built on need, aren’t satisfying and most industry contacts in our field can sense “NEED” right away, and unfortunately be completely turned off from helping you.

So how do you build important relationships without being a dreaded needy energy vampire?

BECOME A GENEROUS NETWORKER.

When in doubt, adopt the philosophy of giving before getting anything from anyone. Generosity is a wonderful relationship builder– and you’ll feel good about the help you provide people along the way. You can find something they are interested in and connect them to an interesting article or opportunity involving it. Or you can introduce them to someone who can solve a problem for them (this can be as simple as suggesting a great plumber or sharing an industry contact you have made). Either way it involves one VERY important element.

LISTENING.

You can’t figure out how to help someone if you are doing most of the talking. Actors naturally gravitate towards the spotlight and are eager to share details about their craft and life. Give that impulse a backseat and 100% focus on the person you are talking to. Ask them questions about themselves. Let those questions spark more questions. Enjoy discovering who this person is. This is a networker’s MOST IMPORTANT work. You can’t fully connect with people or help them connect with each other effectively if you don’t fully understand them in the first place. Take the time to do this. And more importantly— find the joy in it!

click for seminarsA little word of caution…when it comes to helping someone to build your relationship with them, don’t translate that to mean hours upon hours of free labor. Simple, focused, thoughtful actions and connections are the best. Full on projects for someone else as a favor reeks of neediness and is not necessary. Showing you listen, remembering what someone says, referring back to it or helping them in a small way is enough to start to build a lovely relationship.

ADDITIONAL PRO-NETWORKING TIP: Write things down! After you meet contacts, jot the things you want to remember about them in a journal or computer file so you can refer back when your mind may get hazy. There are so many things you need to remember– lines, appointments, passwords— you don’t want to waste your networking experience by forgetting what you have learned about someone. Another great way to do this is jot a few notes down on their business card or in the notes section of your phone!

Photo kindly by @marvelous

5 Goals that ALL Actors Should Add to Their List this January

5 Goals that ALL Actors Should Add to Their List this January

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I LOVE January.  I’ve always geeked out over goals, lists and vision boards.  I adore getting a new planner filled out with important dates and plans and I absolutely OBSESS over dreaming big and thinking about the future.

Whether or not you can relate, you can’t ignore January’s natural ability to make you think about your future and what it may hold for you.

Actors at all levels are currently making their dream lists for 2021.  Maybe you want to book your first co-star credit, land a national VO campaign, or find a new agent.  No matter what your specific goals are, here are a few goals that ALL actors can add to their list for 2021.

Find a new monologue or scene that not only represents your talent but you LOVE performing that character.  Find a story that you just LOVE telling.  Let it light your creative fire and inspire you!  Take notes on what about this character you love and see start exploring other opportunities you may see if the field to tell a similar story.

  1. Make a new contact in the field who is more successful than you are.  Learn from their example, advice and experiences.  Spend time with them.

  1. Take excellent notes on your audition data and regularly analyze what it tells you.  Be honest with yourself if your headshot isn’t opening doors, or if you audition material hasn’t gotten strong enough feedback.  Act on the info you learn.  Need help tracking your data?  We strongly suggest you check out uptodateactor.com.

  1. Find a new film director who speaks to you heart.  Follow them and their projects and learn about the other type of people they regularly work with.  These are people to WATCH because they may have other projects coming down the pipeline that you could be a fit for.

  1. Start a meditation practice.  Mindfulness benefits everyone no matter the career but I feel it deserves extra attention when it comes to acting careers.  Mental strength and peace are invaluable in this field and will help you perform well under pressure and stay focused when the road seems long.

Take this list and add to it!  Write down some individualized goals for your career, health, family– everything!  Research has shown that the simple act of WRITING DOWN YOUR GOALS helps you to be more likely to achieve them.  Take the time for YOU.  And if no one has told you yet— you DESERVE a wonderful 2021.

Photo Kindly by Isaac Smith

Avoid Feeling Powerless in Your Acting Career

Learn How to Avoid Feeling Powerless in Your Acting Career

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How to Avoid Feeling Powerless in Your Acting Career

If you feel like you are doing more waiting than working in your career– well then honey this blog here is for YOU.

Actors are constantly giving their power away in this industry while they sit and refresh their email hoping that an opportunity or an audition will appear. Well friends, that is NO way to build a career OR live your life.

We see it in the dating world all the time. Someone waiting by the phone for that person to call or text. Putting all their eggs in one basket and placing all their happiness on one person. It’s a sad and lonely existence and ya know what it doesn’t prioritize? YOUR HAPPINESS and YOUR SUCCESS.

So if you feel like you have been waiting for the right agent, the right job or the right contact to really feel like an actor— read the tips below and take your power back in this career. Time to step into the Boss Babe role you have always deserved!

When you are an actor, you are the CEO of your own company and you should be working your connections and making new ones with the confidence of a BOSS. Act like a leader. Get focused and committed to your business with the confidence and knowledge of a 7 figure CEO. The successes and failures of the company are on YOU. So train, prepare, and work like you mean it.

When in doubt– MAKE and CREATE. Haven’t had an opportunity land in your lap? Time to make-one. Connect with writers or even write for yourself. Create a team and do play readings, short films, podcasts or even commercials for local businesses. You need to constantly be putting excellent work out there to help more and more people discover who you are and what you can do with your craft. Radio silence doesn’t put you in the right place at the right time so help the universe out! Creating and marketing your own work gives you way more opportunities to sync up with people who can help you get to the next level.

Research and Reach Out. Are you an expert on the type of work being produced right now? Is your brain a full-on encyclopedia of people who are working in the entertainment business who do work that you’d love to be doing at all sorts of levels? If not, then make RESEARCH your new best friend. Troll articles, postings and announcements for new names of people working on projects you’d love to get involved in and then dive down the rabbit hole learning about these people and their careers. But don’t stop there! If there is a project happening that you KNOW you are right for, REACH OUT! Offer to help or be of service in any way. Volunteer or help connect them with something or someone they may need. Get on their radar by being helpful and not needy and then keep tending to that connection until that person is a part of your network.

Help Other People. We mentioned this a bit above, but it’s worth saying again. We all have needy people in our lives and they can be exhausting. Don’t be one when it comes to your career! Offer to help friends and colleagues on creative projects instead of only just asking them to support you. Be mindful to be a giver more than you are a taker (also be mindful to set boundaries– you’re not an eternal volunteer, you are a person of value!). Being helpful is a great way to deepen relationships so your contacts will be more excited about being supportive to your success.

Live a FULL and Happy Life Outside of Your Career. You are not and will never be just an actor. You are a beautiful and powerful human being capable of all sorts of things so spend some time cultivating what some of those “things” are. Have hobbies. Have friends OUTSIDE the business. Spend time with family. Get involved in a cause you care about. The more you grow your holistic self, the easier it becomes to feel confident and happy in who you are. Never place your worth on any one thing. You are so much more than a particular acting job or a relationship. You are multidimensional greatness!

I hope these thoughts and tips will help you get back in the driver seat of your career and your life. You are the writer of your story and you DO deserve to have all the wonderful things you crave. Go on out and build the YOU that has always been hanging out there in your heart.

Take your acting skills to the next level, and learn how to avoid feeling powerless in your acting career by signing up for one of our online acting classes today! 

[Photo Kindly by Ian Dooley]