Podcasts about bosses

Managers are juggling 20–30 reports, one-on-ones are drive-bys, and "office hours" are replacing mentorship. We unpack whether AI is the accelerant: which tasks it's automating (performance reviews, expense approvals), why public markets love lean orgs, and how to stay visible when your boss is underwater. Playbooks for managing up, narrating your wins, and getting coached in a flat org. Hosts: Matt Sunbulli ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunbulli/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.firstdraft.vc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Aaron Calafato ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Listen to Aaron's 7 Minute Stories Podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Leah Ova ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow Leah on TikTok ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Editorial: Brooks Borden Matt Sunbulli Ken Wendt Senior Audio Engineer: Ken Wendt Research: Zaid Safe Matt Sunbulli Aaron Calafato

BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by her superpower co-host, Lau Lapides, to discuss a critical issue in the voiceover industry: brand alignment and navigating controversy. Sparked by the American Eagle/Sydney Sweeney campaign, the hosts explore how a voice actor's ethics and personal brand are intrinsically linked to the clients they represent. They emphasize that in the age of social media, protecting your digital reputation is non-negotiable for long-term career success. 00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey bosses, Anne Ganguzza, you know your journey in voiceover is not just about landing gigs. It's about growing both personally and professionally. At Anne Ganguzza Voice Productions, I focus on coaching and demo production that nurtures your voice and your confidence. Let's grow together. Visit anneganguzza.com to find out more.  00:25 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Ganguzza.  00:47 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss Superpower Series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my awesome superpower co-host Lollapetas.  00:56 - Lau (Guest) Hello, Annie, it's so good to be back. I love being in this Zoom room with you. Or it's not Zoom, but it's Riverside, but I love being in this space room with you. Or it's not Zoom, but it's Riverside, but I love being in this space with you, I know I look forward to it.  01:10 - Anne (Host) We get to see each other and it's been so long it's fabulous when we get back together because we have so much to catch up on. I know, I know oh my gosh.  01:19 - Lau (Guest) By the way, I love your outfit today. You look great.  01:23 - Anne (Host) Why thank you my, my jean shirt or my denim shirt? No, what's really cool about this is this is kind of well, I should say it's it's. It's deceiving, maybe because it looks like it's denim but it's actually like French Terry, and so it's super, super comfortable. But you know, speaking of jeans, I was going to say what color are your jeans.  01:50 Well, you know, I have good jeans and advertising campaigns for our businesses. I mean gosh, it's all over the news. I mean the American Eagle campaign with Sydney Sweeney. I mean, you know, she's got good jeans, and so it's a really interesting debate. I think it's something that we could absolutely relate to our own voiceover businesses in terms of associating with now, first of all, like associating with a brand that may or may not be controversial or may or may not be on the side of you know where your feelings align. I think that would be a really, really interesting topic.  02:30 - Lau (Guest) Lau I love that topic because we hear that word floating in the industry now for quite a while branding. Branding is connected to marketing, is connected to selling right and how you represent yourself and who you're connected to. That helps you represent yourself as well. And making some of those concerted decisions on who you want to be attached to and connected to, that really help you design your ethos of your business.  02:58 - Anne (Host) Well, they can help you. They can help you be successful in the industry, or maybe not. They can help you be controversial in the industry, or maybe not. They can help you be controversial in the industry. It's such an interesting. Now you know one thing about that campaign for me, when I first saw it, I didn't think anything of it, because I am a woman of a certain age and I remember the Jean campaign with Brooke Shields and Calvin Klein, and I just remember it, with Brooke Shields and Calvin Klein, and I just remember it, you know. And so, as a girl in, I think it was in elementary or high school. I can't remember when that came out, but it was the 80s, right? All I know is that I wanted a pair of Calvin Klein jeans because I wanted to look like Brooke Shields. Now today, didn't we all did not we Right?  03:41 No, I thought nothing of it, right, I thought nothing really horrible of it. But then it did become controversial because obviously she was, you know, she was young when she did that ad and it was a little bit sexually, you know, promiscuous, some people would say. And so, you know, today that type of advertising wouldn't fly and I think people are comparing Sydney Sweeney with that, because of she's got good genes, you've got an attractive female and a pair of jeans, and you know, of course, american Eagle says you know, it was always all about the genes, it's not always not about the, not about the misconception that jeans J-E-A-N-S is similar to G-E-N-E-S, so there's a lot to unpack there.  04:25 I don't know how did you react to it when it first came out? What were your thoughts?  04:29 - Lau (Guest) Well, you know what's so funny about the Brooke Shields thing that you bring up? That's the first thing I thought of is that everyone who's outraged about it is not old enough to remember the Brooke Shields and that's what they were really copying. I think that was a copycat from 45 years ago Going back to the old let's sell.  04:45 Yeah, but if you remember, annie, it was there was another controversy hooked on to Brooke Shields at that time, based on that commercial, because that was right around the time that she had shot Blue Lagoon, blue Lagoon, yeah, and she was only like 11, 11 or 12.  05:05 - Anne (Host) I think it was 13.  05:05 - Lau (Guest) Well, by that time she was about 13. But she was still very young and the mother was managing her and so there was a huge blowup and controversy about this young girl doing these so-called sexually explicit commercials about my sexuality and my body, about my sexuality and my body. And I remember thinking, and when I saw it again I thought wow, how did she get those jeans on without showing us anything, right in front of us, Like I was amazed and, as a young girl, I yeah, it was a Cirque du Soleil act.  05:35 It was amazing. Yeah, you know, as a young girl, media is so influential right.  05:41 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) So, influential.  05:41 - Anne (Host) The thing is that, as voice actors, we really have a part in playing into the media, right, because our voices are representing brands, and for me at the time, I didn't consider anything wrong with it. All I know is that I wanted to look like Brooke Shields in those jeans and therefore I wanted the jeans. And I'll tell you what it was an expressly popular campaign that made Calvin Klein a ton of money, a ton of money.  06:09 - Lau (Guest) But if you look at it now as an adult and you listen from a voiceover perspective, her voice was very, very young very kidlike and very straightforward. She was trying to be, if anything, a little bit smart or intellectual versus overly sexy and centralized, but yet the perception, the visual right Was that was that.  06:34 - Anne (Host) That's exactly it. So there's a lot of, there's a lot of things there, and if you were the voice of a campaign that was controversial, right would. If it was something you believed in or didn't believe in, is that something that, as a voice actor, would you accept? And I think, or an actor, I mean any kind of role right? Do you accept those roles if they align with your belief system or your morals or your ethics or whatever that is, and how can it propel your business forward or not?  07:07 I mean, there's just so much that we have choices in, and as well as influence in, as voice actors, and we think sometimes we're hiding behind this microphone, but no, we're still a very intricate part of a media campaign. And so, really, as a voice actor, how do you decide? Really, is you know, oh, this could really propel my campaign if I decide that I want to align with this brand and be the voice of it, or sometimes it's not even about being the voice of it. It's maybe working with that brand in any capacity. You know, how is that going to affect your business? Because people have opinions, people always have opinions, and gosh aren't they all over the place.  07:56 - Lau (Guest) Now that social media is prevalent, they're the Wild West we like to call it right, Annie, it's the Wild West.  07:59 And I would say in my mind it's likened to all the people, not just women but men too. In my mind it's likened to all the people, not just women but men too, but certainly all the women, who have said for many years you know, I am interested in doing romance novels, exotica work, triple X, adult swim as a voiceover talent, but I'm concerned about how my business is going to be viewed. I'm going to use an AKA, an alter ego, another name, another business name, and so I think that voiceover talent have been making these decisions for a very, very long time. Even though we don't have the visuals for the voiceover talent, we may have the visual for the work and so for the work itself may give visuals and vocals that are not aligned with the talent's vision of their business, and sometimes you don't even know.  08:49 - Anne (Host) Sometimes you don't even know, right. I mean you can tell a lot by the context of the script sometimes, but sometimes you can. You don't know where that's going to end up. And again, now that makes me think of, like, you know deep fakes and AI and you don't know where your voice is going to be used. But if you are, you know, an active participant and you are aware, I think really the best thing you can do if these things are concerning to you, right, the more you know, the more you're educated, the better off you're going to be, because you can make those decisions to determine if you want to be aligned.  09:24 I mean there have been careers ruined by, you know, wrong brand alignment, and gosh knows with today's you know political climate. I mean it comes down to and you know what, laura, it comes down to if you think about it. We're in a business. We need to make money, right, and guess what? So are companies that are advertising, right. They're in the business to make money and so a lot of times our decisions are based on money. Yeah.  09:52 - Lau (Guest) Wake up, smell the coffee right, and it's like who is to judge what one person or one brand identity or one company should or shouldn't be doing. It's really in the eyes and ears of the audience. It's really the perception. So, as many people really disagree, fervently disagree and are angered and outraged by that particular American Eagle campaign, you have a mass swath of people who are buying everything.  10:24 - Anne (Host) That gene that she is, they can't keep. I'm just saying or buying everything that gene, that gene that they can't keep it on the proverbial shelf Exactly.  10:29 Right, Exactly so yeah, and it's interesting because I read a couple of. I read a couple of articles about it and they, of course, american Eagle says it's all about the genes. It's always been about the genes and in reality it kind of is like a return back to marketing. You know, marketing for the last few years has been very concerned with, of course, the shift, notice how the shift in cultural trends, right to making sure inclusivity, diversity, you know, every body type is shown and everybody is represented, which I thought was great. I mean I love that. But apparently, like, if you're in the business, I mean, did it sell? I thought it did.  11:09 Personally, I aligned with it better and I bought, I consumed, just like I did before. However, there is a a huge, there's a huge another aspect to this to unpack, about influencers, right, I mean, in reality, I mean she's a famous actress, right, and so just like Brooke Shields. So if she's going to wear these jeans and feel good in them and look good in them, then that's going to really entice other people to buy and you know, or not, right? And If they, I mean how many times? Lau and I I have very strong ideas about like companies and what they do with their money. So like if they're known to, you know, I don't know, do bad things. I will not support of things that companies do behind the scenes and therefore, when I do find out, I then have a choice, to make a decision whether I want to consume that, you know, buy that or not. And I think that, again, as a consumer and as a voice actor, the more educated we can be, the better decisions we can make to determine if we want to align with that.  12:21 - Lau (Guest) I would totally agree and I would say the irony to me about talking about influencers online is why are they called influencers? Yeah, yeah, they're called influences because they have powerful influence over mass swaths of people who want to look like them, sound like them, live like them, whatever. Of people who want to look like them, sound like them, live like them, whatever. So if we were to make a value judgment, we would have to make it evenly across the board between network television and social media and voiceover and radio and TV, that that is just a no-go, which, of course, no one's going to do. We're not going to do that because you know it's a free country and people are going to run their businesses how they run their businesses girls on Instagram to get that facelift or to get those eyebrows or to get those lash extensions, to feel good about who they are.  13:27 - Anne (Host) Well, oh no, okay, you bring up a really important point here, right To feel good about who you are. So what I do because you know I do a little bit of fashion influencing- I know you are an influencer, actually.  13:39 - Lau (Guest) My well, oh my goodness, put your influencer hat on.  13:42 - Anne (Host) So my influencer hat is and I've been, I've been multiple sizes, I've been big and I've been small, right, I mean, I don't know, I've never considered myself small, but that's a whole nother podcast. So, depending on the size right, I followed different influencers. I found and for the most part, if you think about it, when I was a little bit bigger, I had an influencer who I loved her because she was bigger and she was confident and she was beautiful. And I said, gosh, if I could just be confident. And you know, and as a matter of fact, people in my life I've known, I'm like gosh, she's bigger and she's confident. I wish I could be confident like that. I could be confident like that. And then when I, when I started to lose weight, then I it's funny because I switched, following the one influencer who her body type was a little bit bigger, to an influence it was a little bit more my, my body type size, or maybe even smaller, because it was then helpful, it was motivating for me, or inspiring to me.  14:36 And so, in reality and in every instance, right, the influencer made me feel better about myself. Right, I was either motivated or inspired. To well, people are going to say it might be healthy if you say, oh, I want to look like them. But in reality, when it came to my weight, my body size, it was more about becoming healthy. I needed to become healthy, right. And yeah, the clothes were pretty. I didn't have that option with these clothes at this particular size. So, yeah, there was something inspirational and motivational. And then there was the girl who I still follow. She's a bigger girl who is just beautiful at whatever size she's at, and it's really the message that she's saying. That's really the most important thing.  15:17 - Lau (Guest) But I have a question about that, annie, and I know we're getting a little farther away from the voiceover aspect, but from a performance and business aspect, voiceovers need to be thinking about all of this and how you represent your brand and how you think about what you do. Well, absolutely, my question is you have a lot of these people, including, like Lizzo, for instance she was the first one that came to my mind, yeah who made it very public that they lost a ton of weight and that they are very happy they did that and very happy that they're healthier and very happy at whatever they're at.  15:51 - Anne (Host) Yeah.  15:52 - Lau (Guest) So it makes you question well, wait a second, is this for branding sake, to have those brands out there because they know, like a big part of the population is, say, has a certain look or a certain size or a certain sound? Well, yeah, the biggest demographic, the biggest demographic, right? Yeah, versus the reality of the person actually feeling good in their life, I'm going to argue that they're performers and they're performing and that many of them don't feel good about some of the choices they've made in their life and therefore they go and change it. Or their company representatives say you need to change this brand because it is not resonating with the majority of our audiences and we will never know.  16:38 Never know how much influence comes from which direction. We will really not know, that right.  16:44 - Anne (Host) Absolutely. I mean and again this is I mean for bosses out there if you think we're going off topic, in reality we're not, because we're not talking about marketing and advertising, which directly affects us. I mean, that's where we I mean our voices are representing brands that have fluctuations in the way that they advertise and in the way that they market their products, and it's important for us to understand where it's headed, where the trends are and really what is it that matters. And then, what is it that matters to you as an actor, being a part of that campaign, resonating with a brand that may or may not be controversial? Right, Brands change.  17:26 - Lau (Guest) This is where you have to forgive yourself they shift and change trends over time, because that's the natural state of being a human being, is that you age, you change, trends change whatever. Another one that comes to my mind one of my favorite original rappers and then became actress was Queen Latifah. Yeah, yeah. Who I loved for so many reasons. Yeah she's awesome Right.  17:50 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Rubenesque woman beautiful woman.  17:52 - Lau (Guest) Well, she went on a whole campaign I can't remember what it was, whether it was Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem or whatever it was, but she became the brand ambassador of them to lose weight and she had trouble doing it and she never reached the target weight. When she didn't, they dropped her. Yeah, yeah, okay. So my point is was that her and it made you feel like, it made me feel like you know, when you use Tide or use a laundry detergent and then, all of a sudden, you've been using it and it's been good for years, and then it's like no, all new developed. You think, what have I been using that whole time? It wasn't really good. That's how it made me feel.  18:31 - Anne (Host) Well influencing you know and marketing advertising, influencing in their way influencing right as opposed to, and I think that's why influencers became really popular, because it was real people, it wasn't companies. Well, it was the illusion of real people, right?  18:47 Well, they are real people Right right, oh look, I'm not being paid for this but a lot of times, influencers, they get a little bit of a cut. I mean I, you know, hey, I got a little bit of a cut. I'm encouraged to, you know, try this top or this, you know, this pants set or whatever, and then talk about it so that I can get a little bit of a break or a deal. But I creatively love to curate outfits and, to be quite honest, the amount of time I spend at this point because I don't do it full time the amount of time that I spend, you know, putting together videos and stuff, it takes a lot of time. That's my, that's like a, that's a day of my weekend in reality, and I don't make I don't make half as much money as I do when I'm doing voiceover. So for me that's just like a passion project.  19:31 But what is it that voice actors you know need to do? I mean, I think that you either don't realize that you are an intrinsic part of a brand that could or could not be, you know, I mean, you probably know if they're controversial. It's the same thing with political voiceover, Right, we talked about this like not so long ago. What's you know? Are you on a particular side of the fence? Are you? Is your voice, your voice being speaking things that align with your, what you believe in and your morals and your ethics? Or are you just voicing things to make money, because it happens to be something that pays the bills?  20:09 - Lau (Guest) Right and really paying attention to what your audience is identifying your value as. Like I can come in and say, well, I'm going to provide this, I'm going to do this, but I may not have the calling for that. I have to pay attention. Where is the calling of the audience?  20:27 And then go to the. If I want to go to the full extent of that brand, give them awareness of what it is, awareness of my, you know, professionalism, my ethos in it. Whatever that is, it's not always what I'm starting out to be is what it's going to be. I see that all the time like a mismatch of brand knowledge. Someone would say, well, I do this all the time, I play this all the time and I say, right, but what are you being hired for? What you're being hired for might be very different than what you do in your side life.  21:01 - Anne (Host) And if you think about it, like if you align yourself with a style of voiceover that is, you know, has a message, right, that may or it on levels with brands that I've been associated with, where, if you're not careful and you know I mean with the VO Boss podcast, right, if you're not careful people will associate you with those brands as well, and you know that can be detrimental to your career, to your livelihood, and that is something it's sometimes. It's not an easy decision. It's not an easy decision to make. It's not an easy decision.  21:42 - Lau (Guest) It's not an easy decision to make. It's not an easy decision. You have to realize you're performing a part. So whenever you are in that what I call the awareness zone that's like the industry awareness of who you are Like I feel like I play two parts. One is the real person in the larger world, who may or may not know me, and then the person, the mama, who knows me, who people know me in the larger world, who may or may not know me, and then the person, the mama, who knows me, who people know me in the industry. And when I play that role, I know I'm always to some degree on, you're always on and having that awareness that there is a performance value to what you do. How?  22:15 - Anne (Host) interesting because your brand, since I've known you, has evolved into Mama Lau, which you know what I mean. Because I want to say it's because I started calling you Mama Lau, because that's what I called my mother, and then it turned into Mama Lau, but now as Mama Lau, known as Mama Lau in the industry. Right, you now need to be considerate of. Okay, what does this brand speak about me? And if you were to do something, that would not be Mama Lau.  22:42 - Lau (Guest) Right, so I'm not going to go to Vegas and become a stripper anytime soon. Are you going to?  22:47 - Anne (Host) be an erotic. I mean, would you be an erotica audiobook narrator? I mean, well, maybe not under Mama Lau but, here, you are here you are with. Unless you're going to be a character voice, right, here you are, I know your voice. And unless you're going to be a character voice and I don't recognize that voice, right, our voices are recognizable.  23:07 I mean, some of us have immediately, like I know, this person's voice from you know long you know, far, far away, I can tell that voice and I have that with some of my students that have distinctly unique voices, right, I'm thinking they probably can't go into you know erotica character work if they don't want to know other people to know about it. Yes, you know, if you want other people to know about it, that's fine. But for you, under that brand, you have to. There's a responsibility to that brand, right?  23:34 - Lau (Guest) Yes, there is.  23:34 - Anne (Host) In what you do. It reminds me of. It reminds me of oh my gosh, who was it? Who was it? He was a comedian. He was fired in 2011 due to offensive tweets he made about the Japan earthquake and the tsunami. And it is, oh my gosh, gilbert Gottfried. There you go.  23:50 - Lau (Guest) Oh wow, how could we not?  23:52 - Anne (Host) remember that, yes. I know right Gilbert Gottfried.  23:55 - Lau (Guest) I didn't know that.  23:56 - Anne (Host) Yeah, oh yeah, and it was. It was. That was, I think, when it first, at least when I was in the industry, when it first became evident that social media and what you do outside of your job in voice acting, will have a direct effect, if it's offensive enough, right On your job. And you know, nowadays people have to be careful on social media what they're posting. And because companies can now go check out your social media, because companies can now go check out your social media, and so for you as a voice actor, again, it has to come to mind that if you are known, or if you are known in social media, now your actions, if people were to look you up on social media and find that you're associated with a brand or find that you are, you've done something that I don't know is not something that aligns with their ethics right, it can affect your business.  24:52 - Lau (Guest) So in a way, annie, it's kind of like we're blurring the lines of our real reality of living a life as a person, with our business and our performance career, that there is kind of that expectation that you sort of represent it all of your life, all of your life, and you're not going to go through anything. That's antithetical to that image that is being put out there, which I mean. For me it's easy because I'm kind of like, I'm a mama type anyway, but for the average person I think that would be hard, that would be a challenge.  25:27 Mama Lau as mama Lau would not go to a Coldplay concert and get yourself caught on the probably not. I'd be the person standing outside with food, waving my hand, going what did you do in there? What did you do?  25:37 - Anne (Host) And we should bring that up, because yet there's another like CEO of you know, of a company, and then the director of HR, the director of the people I forget what they call it now. I'm like director of HR, no people, ceo of people. Forgive me for not knowing what her title was. She was HR, wasn't she?  25:55 - Lau (Guest) The head of HR. Yes, Like top HR, you know? Executive.  26:00 - Anne (Host) I think PMO is a people. I forget what it is, but anyways, see it, you know. So, really, if you think about it, what did that do those actions do to the brand? Right To the brand. Yes, they say all all, what is it? All publicity is good publicity, but do you think that this was good publicity for the company?  26:24 - Lau (Guest) No, no, I don't either. I don't think there was any redeeming value to that and that felt to me it could have been happenstance, but it felt like a setup. It felt like someone tipped someone off to put them on the jumbotron.  26:37 - Anne (Host) Oh interesting, I didn't think that it didn't just feel random.  26:40 - Lau (Guest) There was like, like, how many people were there?  26:44 - Anne (Host) 50,000? I don't know. I think I, I didn't think it, I don't think they were set up, I mean, unless you have somebody in the company that's like. Well, I mean, first of all you have to, you have to know the person that's, you know, focusing on the Jumbotron and say, oh my God, wouldn't it be funny if you know I hate that guy or whatever? But think about it?  27:01 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I don't know.  27:02 - Anne (Host) Your actions in life right can be directly affected these days because of social media, because of the now back in the day when I had to walk to school 10 miles up a hill in the snow. When there wasn't social media, it was a little easier to get away with, I would say, indiscretions like that.  27:24 - Lau (Guest) But now, maybe even now with being a voiceover talent. You've got that anonymity to some degree.  27:31 - Anne (Host) But not as much anymore. I'm saying not as much anymore, remember, because voice actors, we're all about social media, aren't we? Because, guess what we need to get work and what are we doing? We're trying to showcase're all about social media, aren't we? Because guess what we need to get work and what are we doing? We're trying to showcase our brand on social media, and when you do that, you really have to be prepared for repercussions. If you are going to voice a campaign, associate yourself with a brand that may be controversial, and you know something that is a concern for your business. That may not have been so much of a concern maybe 20, 30 years ago.  28:06 - Lau (Guest) It's true, because I think with probably the third generation now, or what would we say, maybe the second generation now, millennials and Gen Zers, who are digital natives, growing, up online on social media like their life online on social media like they didn't see the commercial.  28:23 Their life- is on social media. So their lines are very blurred, like I would say, arguably our generation x not as blurred like I know. When I was younger I used to think, oh, the Brady kids are really like that. Now I realize they're separate people, right, they're separate people than what they did in the sitcom. But nowadays it's like oh, everyone thinks that anything you do online is you, is really you, and so it puts a lot of pressure on those people to say okay, am I in alignment with the kind of brand that I want to have out there or not?  29:02 And a lot of people will say well, you know what do they say? All good, all press, bad press, negative press is still good, press, it's still good. I don't know about that. I don't know about that. I don't think that's true. Yeah, I don't think that's true.  29:15 - Anne (Host) I mean in a way. I mean in a way who said?  29:19 - Lau (Guest) that. Beyonce, who said that Someone big said that I don't even remember, but in a way, american Eagle is benefiting from the controversy.  29:27 - Anne (Host) However, there's really good arguments on either side of it. Again, they're promoting to a crowd you know who are their best sellers. Do you know what I mean? Because, as I and you also talked about in the beginning, we have a certain familiarness with advertising from 30 years ago, right 40 years ago, and so for us, maybe that ad was like oh okay, I didn't think anything of it, but then all of a sudden, because of the younger generation, right, who are like hey, what is this? Or you know, or why, especially with political things going on, what do you mean? Genes like G-E-N-E-S Is that? Then it became a political thing. So I think that we have to be really, really careful, as voice actors on social media, to make sure that we're aware, be aware, educate yourself and be aware of what your voice, what your presence, what your social presence means to your business.  30:33 - Lau (Guest) And I also would add on to that, annie, that we just had a discussion because my group was in New York showcasing of actors and I was really tough, talk about mama, tough. I was really tough and saying listen, I'm just going to tell you this right now If you don't go into your social media right now, before you audition for those agents, those casting directors, those producers, and clean it up and scrub your stuff, scrub it.  30:57 Get reputation defenders. Do whatever you need to do to scrub it. Keep your ideas and ideals separate, because you don't want to alienate people and their whole audience before you even meet them and audition for them, do you? I mean, do you to be a really good note to leave on Digital Digital?  31:25 - Anne (Host) We are digital. We are digital.  31:27 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Your footprint's there.  31:28 - Anne (Host) Digital is traceable, just saying Digital is traceable, you are. Have you ever tried to? And again, we've never really covered this in depth, but if you think about it, if you ever tried to make a comment and then delete it and then it didn't really delete or did, how many people took a screenshot of that? Yeah, you know, before you deleted it.  31:48 So again, things are digital and things, and because we've gotten again on your phone, on your computer, just assume that people are tracing and I know, yes, you can get it's not right and I get that, but just assume and just you know, honestly, just be aware, be aware and protect your business, protect your voice, protect your business and protect your bossness. Guys, be a bossness.  32:16 - Lau (Guest) And I'll leave on this note in saying yes, and I'll piggyback by saying, even just for who you are as a person, be happy and content with the brand you're creating. Because, you're going to have to live with that for a long time. As long as you have your business, you'll have to live with it.  32:34 - Anne (Host) I have people.  32:35 - Lau (Guest) Annie when I go to a conference or something screaming across the room hey mama, how are you? If I didn't like that, I didn't want that, I'd have to change it. I'd have to really change it and make a concerted effort to do that so be happy with what you're selecting and what you're choosing and what your audience is giving to you and, if not, strategize elsewhere, redirect it.  32:59 - Anne (Host) Good stuff, good stuff, amazing Bosses. We would love to hear your thoughts honestly. So you know, write us at theboss, annaviobosscom. We'd love to hear from you right in our community Facebook page. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this. So, Lau, it's been amazing, amazing, as always. Big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses have an amazing week and we'll see you next week.  33:30 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye, see you next time. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.     

Aquesta setmana s'ha commemorat el internacional de la conscienciació sobre les pèrdues i el malbaratament alimentari.

BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by Tom Dheere to discuss a foundational topic for every voiceover career: coaching. The hosts assert that every voice actor, from beginner to veteran, needs a coach. The Bosses explore why continuous learning is a necessity in today's saturated market, how to avoid being overwhelmed by industry information, and the combined importance of mastering both performance and business skills.   00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey Boss listeners. Are you ready to turn your voiceover career goals into achievements? With my personalized coaching and demo production, I'm here to help you reach new milestones. You know you're already part of a Boss community that strives for the very best. Let's elevate that. Your success is my next project. Find out more at anneganguzza.com.  00:25 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.  00:44 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Real Bosses series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm delighted to be here with Mr Tom Dheere. Yay, yay, hello Anne, hi Tom, yes, guess what, tom, it's that time of year again.  01:01 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It is you?  01:01 - Anne (Host) know when everybody's going back to school.  01:05 - Tom (Guest) Back to school. Oh yeah, I already bought my trapper keeper.  01:09 - Anne (Host) Oh my gosh, I used to love those. You know that was one of my favorite things about going back to school is buying office supplies and getting ready, and I was one of those rare. I don't know, tom, if you were one of those students, but I loved school. Love, tom, if you were one of those students, but I loved school. Love, love, love school. And it was always exciting to me to, number one, go back for the social component of things and then to go back and like I don't know. I always wanted to like advance in my subjects, and so I was always excited about learning.  01:37 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, me too. I do love school supplies, like if anyone who knows me as just me, or me as the vo strategist like?  01:47 - Anne (Host) of course he loves school supplies right, you know, sharpened pencils and rulers and everything being organized, paper clips and clothes, clothes, my new school clothes.  01:54 - Tom (Guest) You know, hey, oh, love the school clothes. Gotta get the new school clothes.  01:58 - Anne (Host) Well then, speaking of school, you know. I mean maybe it's time that we have a chat about coaching, coaching in this industry. And does it matter, tom, does it? There's so much information out there. Does it matter? Is it beneficial?  02:15 - Tom (Guest) let's, let's, let's chat about that well, one at first. It's funny that we actually haven't talked about this in the few years that we've done the real bosses podcast and two. You know there's an old saying which is never ask an encyclopedia salesman if you need an encyclopedia.  02:28 - Anne (Host) Yes, exactly so you asking?  02:29 - Tom (Guest) me a voiceover coach. If voice actors need voiceover coaching, we'll say well, of course, the answer is yes.  02:34 - Anne (Host) I know and for me to say do we need coaching? As a coach and demo producer.  02:45 - Tom (Guest) Of course. Of course we're gonna say so. Yes, full disclosure. Of course, we as coaches, yes. But here's the thing about it is that I know ann does not accept everybody that that wants to work with her, and I know that not. I don't accept everybody that wants to work with me for all kind, for all kinds of uh, all kinds of reasons. But every voice, regardless of where they are in their journey, needs coaching. You always need to be learning. The greatest baseball players and musicians everyone has a coach. Tiger Woods has a swing coach. Aaron Judge has a baseball bat swing coach as opposed to a golf swing coach. All the greatest artists and athletes have coaching. Do they know more than most? Can they do it better than most? Of course, that's why they are in the positions that they are in doing what they're doing, making what they're making, being as famous as they are, but it's a constant, constant sort of you know all the arts. There needs to be a constant level of education re-education, continuous learning, as they say, absolutely.  03:49 - Anne (Host) And if you're just starting out in the industry, you have to have a fundamental base. And there is, you know, hey, I am the biggest you know. And Google and gangoozle, and gangoozle, and gangoozle, whatever, I am the biggest lover of you know. Search the internet, find the answers. Because I mean, gosh, back in the day, you remember when we used to have to do research, we'd have to actually go to the library and then you would write, like I'd have to write notes for my term paper on like, on like index cards.  04:17 - Tom (Guest) What is this library? What is?  04:19 - Anne (Host) this library. What is this library? Well, our, I mean the library is at our fingertips and so we can. I mean, there's so much out there and, tom, both you and I put out a lot of content in regards to this industry and you know the business of the industry and performance. I give out performance tips and so I think a lot of times when you're first starting out, it can be really overwhelming, and so having a source, a coach, to go to, to kind of make it less overwhelming, can be an actual advantage as well.  04:52 As for me, what was I saying the other day? Oh, in my Pilates class I was like, yeah, I pay to go to this Pilates class so I can do the stretching on the foam roller that I have here at home and I just don't do Right, so I go and use the foam roller that's at the Pilates studio. But there's something to be said in being in a classroom and and actually saying I am dedicating this time for me to learn something or to, you know, to, to, to grow myself, and coaching is a big part of that grow myself, and coaching is a big part of that.  05:30 - Tom (Guest) I agree, the ability to take time and money to commit to a process that you know in. To a certain degree, you could do some of it on your own, but a lot of people most people, I would say like the reason why I have so many mentorship students that I have is that they're like I just need you.  05:48 I just need to have someone to talk to once a month, bounce ideas off of and hold me accountable for it and when you have, and I love accountability and I love stand up groups and meet up groups, but when they actually have to fork money over to me to basically be a paid accountability buddy, there's something to that, something to that I mean. And also, you know, when you're in an accountability buddy group with an accountability buddy or a mastermind group or standup group, that's all great, but most of them are peers.  06:19 Yes, absolutely With the same level of experience and knowledge as you as opposed to working with you or me or another coach who is just have you know, scads of knowledge and experience and the ability to disseminate that knowledge effectively. And also, I know you and I know you keep up with industry trends on a performance and technology and business and marketing level. So do I. We have to do that to be relevant and effective. We have our means. We read the same blogs and watch the same podcasts as everybody else, but I'm sure I know I have my own little secret methods of how I'm keeping up with things, and I'm sure you do too that we're able to aggregate and have, in a concise Anne, to say this is what's going on in the industry, this is how it applies to you. These are the decisions that you could make based on who you are, your talent level, your experience level, the time you have, the money you have that could get you where you want to go.  07:15 - Anne (Host) Well, and the accountability it doesn't just stop with the student. I mean, the coach is accountable. And that is, I think, where the difference is between peer accountability groups, because peer accountability groups, yeah, we can say, yeah, you were supposed to do this last week, or you, this is, this is on your goal sheet, but the stakes are not as high. I don't believe in a peer accountability group as a coach, because coaches are judged on their effectiveness, right, and they they get business based upon their effectiveness and word of mouth. So when you want to go work with someone where that is a factor, you're going to get education.  07:54 That, I think, really counts and is really intentional and therefore, I believe the quality of that is going to be better and it's going to be directly customized, especially if it's one-on-one coaching, and I do both group coaching and one-on-one coaching. But really, when you get that one-on-one time with a coach, there's nothing better than that, because I mean, I look, I offer group coaching as well, but that one-on-one time is precious. That is where it is all about you. It's customized just for you, your career, your growth. And that is where I think coaching really shines and why it still matters and I think, actually, I think it matters more today than it did in years past, because there's so much more competition out there, tom and there's, of course, you know, the synthetic competition out there there, tom, and there's, of course, you know, the synthetic competition out there and we need to really create something, a footprint for ourselves or a voice print, really for ourselves, that is unique and that is competitive and that can actually connect with our audience, which is what our clients are paying us for.  08:59 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, there are more voiceover opportunities for voice actors of all experience levels than ever ever before. There's more genres than ever. There are more voiceover opportunities for voice actors of all experience levels than ever ever before. There's more genres than ever. There are more casting sites than ever, you know, because when I just started, you know there was radio commercials and TV commercials and you know not that much. I mean there was e-learning, reel-to-reel kind of stuff. You know there wasn't that much more.  09:24 Now there's app narration, explainer videos, you know, audio description. There's just so many other ways to get work. But the flip side of that, Anne, is that it's so complicated because there's almost like there's too many choices and there's too many coaches and there's too many casting sites and there's too many blogs and too many podcasts and too many DAWs and too many CRMs and the ability to navigate that and make sure that their time and money is well spent. It's a huge challenge. I mean, I'm on Reddit pretty regularly hanging out on the voiceover related subreddits and listening and watching and, you know, giving advice and stuff like that, and they all say the same thing I don't know where to find a good coach. I don't know how to vet a good coach. I got ripped off by this coach, isn't?  10:15 - Anne (Host) that funny? That's always the question. That's always the question because I think everybody's overwhelmed with that information. You know, I don't think it's unlike just because it's you know the online world today. I don't think it's unlike choices that you have in most everything, right, where can you find a good one? And so what do we do? We rely on word of mouth, we rely on recommendations from our peers who have had a good coach and can recommend a good coach, and so I think that it's good that we have the community and coaches that are out there. You know, hopefully you have a good reputation and if you don't, and if you're just kind of a fly by night coach, well, people will find that out too. So I think that it's, in a way, it's good that there is lots of talk and communication and I always tell you know people, testimonials are always, they're so worthwhile, and word of mouth and communication, and I always tell you know people, testimonials are always, they're so worthwhile and and word of mouth and recommendations. It really is kind of the way, I think, to get work, to get a good coach to do all of that. But I'm talking for me. I'm involved in the performance aspect of the coaching.  11:19 But you right, first of all, you can have the best voice, you can do the best audition, you can be, have the best performance skills ever, but if somebody doesn't know how to find you, or you're not marketing yourself properly, or you don't have your business set up properly guess what? You're not you're gonna sit there and not get hired. I just spoke to a new student the other day who I literally said he's got four demos. And I and he said, like he's been in the business for six years. And he's like well, I don't have an aging yet and I haven't had a VO job yet. And I'm like well, why have you not had a VO job yet? I mean, he's not like he hasn't spent his money. You know what I mean, and so he needs right.  12:00 And then I went and looked at his website. There's absolutely no. And I said, well, you have no examples of work that you've done. You have, you know, and you can't expect to get it all with just an agent, depending on the genre you're in. And he, basically, I said you can have the best voice in the world, but it's not going to do you any good if nobody can find you. So that's where your business coaching comes into play. So it's not just performance coaching that I think is necessary and business coaching is the non-sexy. It's kind of like I do corporate voiceover and it's like the non-sexy part of voiceover. I think business coaching sometimes gets that same stigma and in fact, it's something that I think people need more than ever, more than ever today. Right, and of course, talk about that, tom, of course as the VO strategist, I always say that everybody should get a business coach.  12:44 - Tom (Guest) But to your point is that you could work with me for years and have the best business model, have the best marketing strategies, but if you're not an effective performer, it's not going to matter.  12:58 Yeah, yeah, just like you said, you could be the best performer in the world, but if nobody knows you exist, it's not going to matter either. So it's this synergistic relationship of developing your what I call your storytelling skills, your VO-101 skills, breath control, microphone technique, your genre skills, you know, to be able to be demo ready, to make that shiny demo, and then you can do the things with the demo, which is what I, as the VO strategist, helps everybody with, and everybody has their own journey. Everybody has their own relationship with themselves internally, which it's our job as coaches to be like. Ok, you know, how does this person tick, how does this person respond? How does this person respond to criticism? How does this person respond to praise? How does this person respond to data? You know, and everybody has their own ideas of what success is for them. And these, you know, these people love these social media platforms and these people hate social media and these people hate all social media, and you know.  14:00 And these people hate social media, and these people hate all social media, and you know. And these people hate online casting sites and so on and so forth. So everybody has their own biases and tendencies and, as effective coaches, on both a performance level and a business and marketing level, you know it's our job to be able to navigate that, and that's why the single most important skill that every voiceover coach performance, business, marketing, tech or otherwise has to have is the ability to listen, which also is the same exact skill that every voice actor needs to be a successful, effective, relevant voice actor. So, if you're having a conversation with someone you're considering coaching with and you can't get a word in because they're talking about themselves or that one cartoon they did 30 years ago, or if it's all sell, sell, sell, that tells you something, because they are not asking you what your pain points are Sure.  14:53 - Anne (Host) Every good marketer Help you solve them.  14:55 - Tom (Guest) Exactly Every good marketer, whether it's a a commercial, tired of using this old mop this way. You know. That's identifying the pain point. If I used to use, I use this mop. This mop stinks. Go use this mop. This mop's great. If there isn't any kind of centered likes, any kind of back and forth, reciprocal. You know what are, what are you going through, what are what challenges have you? What are your struggles? Oh okay, well, based on this, this and this, I can help you with this, this and this, as opposed to some. You know old hack, who's just going to throw these stock scripts at you and you know in three lessons. And then you get your demo using the same scripts that everybody uses or a new hack, who you know?  15:32 - Anne (Host) there are new hacks we've seen a lot of those out there.  15:35 - Tom (Guest) I have noticed quite a few new hacks lately both in the performance and business and marketing categories.  15:42 - Anne (Host) I think also, when you talk about an industry that has evolved and changed so much and especially, you know, this year's been an interesting year I mean you've got changes in things outside of the industry that are affecting, you know, corporations and affecting people who advertise, and affecting the climate of what we do, and so that makes people scared to advertise Sometimes, it makes people scared to spend money. It makes, you know there's all sorts of things happening outside of our industry that affect our industry as well as you know. I mean what's happening in your own personal life as well as you know. I mean what's happening in your own personal life. So we talk about the necessity of performance coaching and business coaching, but there's also, believe it or not, there's something to be said for, you know, coaching of the mind and coaching to be a confident performer, a confident business person, somebody who can be competitive and negotiate in these times where it seems like everybody's vying for the same job, and so there's also mindset skills, I think, that are also valuable to be coached. I think, like you said it in the beginning, like a lifelong learner, I think we always have to be learning. We always have to be learning, and do we have to spend tons and tons of money doing it. No, not necessarily, but I do think that there's an investment there and I think it's something that you need to revisit.  17:08 If you did get coaching prior to your demo, maybe five years ago, and now maybe you need a new demo.  17:15 I personally think that everything needs a refresh and, you know, if you haven't coached in a while, I feel like having someone else's ears listen to you. If you haven't been booking why, why is that? Go to a trusted coach and have them listen to you and see if maybe you've fallen into some sort of a rut where maybe you're not delivering performance-wise I don't know a rut where maybe you're not delivering performance wise. Or, for example, when I spoke to the student yesterday who's like well, I haven't gotten a job yet, and I'm like OK, first of all, I'm looking at your website and you don't have downloadable demos. Your website, your demos, are five years old. You know there's lots of things that can contribute to not getting hired, and so I think that the coaching can. Yes, it's definitely investment, but again, remember, any business, you have investments and I think that again, more than ever, it is important to be educated and understand how you can evolve with the changing VO industry of today.  18:15 - Tom (Guest) I think what I agree with everything that you said wholeheartedly, on top of all, that all voice actors need to invest in empowerment. That is one of the biggest deficiencies that most aspiring voice actors have coming into the industry. They immediately, you know, disempower themselves. They immediately devalue themselves because they have this and this is a system of thought thing that I talk about all the time, Anne is that most people coming into the voice industry think that the industry is vertical, it's a ladder or a mountain and you have to climb it and as you climb it, you kick people in the face and knock them off the ladder or the mountain like it's some reality show and you go ha ha, I take your videos now.  19:01 Haha, I narrate them. You don't blah, blah. That's not how it works. I've always talked about how the voiceover industry is spherical and you're the center of your sphere and your job is to expand your sphere and empower yourself by including as many good humans in it as possible, both agents and managers and audio engineers and coaches and fellow voice actors and your accountant and your lawyer and your graphic designer or your social media manager or whoever to empower you so you can make the best decisions possible to expand that sphere and move your voiceover business forward.  19:36 So to work with an effective coach to be or just to be, just to be educating yourself in general is to empower you you know, on both a personal and a professional level, and the more that you can do that, the better chance you have of making those voiceover dreams come true.  19:55 - Anne (Host) I mean, and and speaking of, we always talk about, what are the red flags? What are the red flags right? How do we know a coach is worthy of my investment? Right, a coach, a business coach or performance coach? You know, I like to start with. First of all, let's let's talk about what it takes to get a good coach. I mean, what are the? What are the green flags Right? What? What do you look for in a good coach? What are some properties of a good coach? Would you?  20:22 - Tom (Guest) say you touched on this earlier. Reputation is definitely one. I mean there's the reputation of someone like a Jennifer Hale who holds the Guinness World Record for the most amount of video game characters ever recorded by a female. So there's a level of something that comes with that.  20:42 Jen also happens to be a great articulator and a great coach, but then there's other coaches that have done one character decades ago hasn't done much work since, and then that's the only thing that they hang their shingle and their reputation on this one character that they played a very, very long time ago. Shingle and their reputation on this one character that they played a very, very long time ago. Jennifer, like you and me and a bunch of our other coaching and voiceover friends are boots on the ground day to day, dare I say, in the trenches. Voice actors. We are working, we are auditioning and marketing and booking regularly. So I always say the first green flag for a good voiceover coach is to go to their voice actor website and go check that out.  21:26 See what they've got, see what they have done recently, see if their demos and YouTube Anne and playlists have been updated recently, check their IMDB profiles and see what work they have done. And layered on top of that, you know, as a voice actor, reputation, obviously, as a voiceover, coach, reputation, testimonials on the website, testimonials on social media platforms, conversations that people are having behind our back on various social media platforms or in subreddits or Discord servers or or facebook groups, like though that's some of the major. Those are two of the biggest green flags is the. You know, because you never know and there is no guarantee of any voice actor achieving any level of success, but you know your chances of empowerment will increase if you work with someone who knows what they're doing, has been doing it for a long time and is doing it today.  22:19 - Anne (Host) Yeah, exactly. So they have evolved over the evolution of the voiceover industry and so they know. They know what agents are looking for, they know what casting directors are looking for, they know what is relevant and current in the industry. So red flags on the other side.  22:38 - Tom (Guest) Well, the red flags are if they just started. There's a lot of voice actors or aspiring voice actors who do a couple of gigs and all of a sudden they hang out their shingle as a voiceover business coach and marketing coach, or performance coach. You and I see it all the time.  22:55 - Anne (Host) I think there has to be some longevity to it.  22:57 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, there needs to be some longevity to it. Yeah, there needs to be some longevity. Now. Everybody has to start somewhere, and you know someone who may turn out to be the greatest performance or business coach ever has to start somewhere, and start with one student.  23:12 And you know what I mean, but for those that haven't been in the industry for very long, that have little or no IMDB credits or have little or no samples on their voiceover website, all of a sudden they're a coach. Well, that's telling you something, and I've seen it from personal experience. People working, for example, with me get some business coaching from me and then a couple months later they're all of a sudden a business coach. And I'm like wait a minute, wait a minute, they never last.  23:38 - Anne (Host) Well, I always think they never last, though.  23:41 You know, for me it's always like and people say this all the time, right, you know the quick success, right, and I see it in. You know ads, in ads like, hey, you don't need expensive equipment or training to be a voice actor. And you know those are designed to sell the dream. And again we have to say it, you know, and it sounds like a broken record, but just if we reach just one person right and I always tell people like, honestly, it's a skill You're becoming an actor. I mean, that doesn't happen overnight. It is a marathon, not a sprint. It really is a marathon, and the people who are truly successful in this industry know that. And marathon by marathon, I'm not talking six months, I'm not talking three months, I'm not talking, I'm talking years, years of working in this industry and putting in the work, doing the auditions, getting the training. Those are the ones that become successful.  24:38 - Tom (Guest) Absolutely. This is a long-term investment. It's just like going to college, going to medical school, going to trade school going to vocational school.  24:49 It takes a long time to develop the skills and collect the tools, both literal, physical, microphone headphones, daw and the other business and marketing tools understanding how to write a business plan, how to create a marketing strategy, how to make long-term investments through blogging and social media, how to make short-term investments through auditioning on free casting sites and then developing your skills, and then maybe moving to pay-to-play casting sites which have higher quality, higher paying auditions and then using that to develop your skills to maybe then you're ready to submit to agents. There are things that have to happen in order. You know, a tomato can't grow until you plant the seed, water it and wait.  25:37 - Anne (Host) Right, exactly. Well, I love that because so many people are like well, I can't invest in another demo or more coaching until I make money in the industry. So, oh gosh, I wish I had a nickel for every time. Somebody said that to me and I'm like but it doesn't quite work like that In reality. You do have to make an initial upfront investment and it may take you a minute before you make that money back. And so you've got to get the skills developed in both running your business, establishing that you know, hanging out the shingle on your online website. There's money involved in that. There's money involved in you know setting up your business or getting you know good business coaching, advertising yourself. And there's, of course, money in performance wise being, you know, coached so that you're competitive.  26:26 In today's industry, you're competitive and doing well, and even the people who do, who are great performers. It's not always an immediate return on investment. I mean, gosh, I mean I've spoken to veterans out there. I mean you have to understand. You have to be in it long enough to understand that you're not going to get a commercial a day necessarily. I mean I don't know anybody that ever has, and that dream can't be sold to you. You really just have to be. I think you have to think what Malcolm? I always go back to Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours, really 10,000 hours of effort and you know to really start to see effective success. And then you evolve into growing into a better performer, a better actor, a better business person. Tom, if somebody's interested in it, how much would you say is when is a good time to invest? When do they take that step and say plunk down my money, here's my money, coach me.  27:37 - Tom (Guest) I would say what has to happen. I think the first thing that has to happen is that they have to invest in storytelling training first. Theater training, on-camera training, singing training, improv training, stand-up comedy training. Pick one of those disciplines.  27:52 - Anne (Host) But does that mean they have to spend money and go to an acting class? Not necessarily.  27:55 - Tom (Guest) I mean improv troops are free. You know open mic night is free. You know there's community theater is free. There's lots of places where they can develop that skill, because first they need to find out if they have that skill they don't want to be on stage.  28:09 - Anne (Host) That's why they're right. That's why they're doing it behind the mic. That's why right.  28:13 - Tom (Guest) So for those people. Right, and the thing about that is they need to find out if they have the ability, through the power of their voice, to engage and be engaging. If you can do that through those, then you can. Then that's when I think is a good time to start your VO training. Here's the other thing, Anne, is that you know. You mentioned briefly AI at the beginning of it. If you are better than AI when you're, you know when you're starting to invest in your training, you're not going to get anywhere.  28:42 - Anne (Host) And what's going to make the difference? And AI reads really well. So if you're nothing but a really pretty reader, yeah, you got no shot.  28:48 - Tom (Guest) You're not going to advance. That's why getting acting, theater, improv, stand up or singing training is going to already you're hitting the ground running by already being better than AI when you're, once you're ready for your VO training. That's why I think you should really start that way.  29:02 - Anne (Host) Yeah, One thing I do want to stress is that my coaching has gone. It was always been acting based. I mean it starts with acting based. So for those people who've never taken acting course, I always I always recommend that they take an acting course anyway, because there's a subtle difference between acting in front of other people or acting with people and then acting behind the mic, and it's nice to have that 360 degree view of all the aspects of the acting. And a good coach will teach you voice acting and not just here's a script, here's how and direct you to a sound that would sound good on a demo, really, and that's why I concentrate. I'm almost obsessed with personally training people to be good actors, because that's going to last them so much longer than just a directed demo. Right, Because if any good director can direct you to a good demo, really it's.  29:55 You know they can give you the read that people are looking for and then you can have a great demo. But then, all of a sudden, when you're asked to produce that or you're trying to audition and you're wondering why you're not booking the jobs, that's because you haven't established the basic skills, the basic acting skills required. Definitely, investment is not just in a voice acting coach, but, yes, in, I think, acting classes, improv classes. All of that can help. All of that can help.  30:21 - Tom (Guest) Absolutely. It's just going to make you that much better, that much faster and that much better of a decision maker than AI, because the real skill, when it comes to true performance, is not about what impressions you can do is can you make strong acting choices quickly, right, right, right. And if you can do that when the client says, hey, abc. That for me, and you can do is can you make strong acting choices quickly, right, right, right. And if you can do that when the client says, hey, abc that for me, and you can give them three takes with different emphasis and different motivations and different levels of engagement.  30:47 That's what's going to get you ahead of the pack.  30:50 - Anne (Host) And honestly, it's one of those things that you have to understand that if you're looking, if you happen to just be getting in this industry and you watch social media, be careful with that, because a lot of what happens on social media is all the positive things, all the hey I booked the gig but I can't tell you about it, or the illusion that you know people are successful, because you know it takes a very special person to be on social media and say, oh gosh, I didn't nail it and I'm so upset Because a lot of times, well, first of all, if it's something that's under NDA, we can't really talk about it anyways.  31:28 But if you give the illusion or you're looking at other people that are giving the illusion that they're successful and making tons of money and they just started or they didn't do it this way, there's multiple ways to be successful in voiceover and there are some people that would say you don't necessarily need coaching. Honestly, I don't buy into that, but I think at some point everybody needs to have that extra ear, hearing them or giving them some sort of education about it, whether it could be a manager, it could be a talent agent. It doesn't have to be an actual voiceover coach, but somebody that's giving you feedback so that you can then take that feedback and improve. Do what you need to educate and improve yourself.  32:12 - Tom (Guest) I think you touched upon something very critical which is one of the most important skills is the ability to self-direct and with COVID wiping out all in-person auditions, at least here in New York City, and for most voice actors, almost 100% of their actual bookings are going to be taking place at home, not being directed. Then you need to learn how to listen to yourself objectively when it comes to pace and tone and inflection and sibilance and regionalisms and mic placement and breath control and, obviously, performance choices. That you should be able to learn how to hear yourself and adjust accordingly, because if you can't do that, you can't be an effective voice actor.  32:58 - Anne (Host) That's a process being able to self-direct, it's being able to develop an ear. An ear doesn't happen overnight, typically, it just doesn't. It's hard for people to actually hear themselves without actually hearing how they sound and to evaluate themselves as an actor. So it is tough. Themselves as an actor. So it is tough. And it does take, I think, a lot of I'm going to say a lot of practice, a lot of you know, auditions, a lot of failing, a lot of just going oh shoot, what could I have done wrong? Or maybe feedback, and so, yeah, there's a lot to that. I mean, gosh, we could just go on all day. But guys, again, you know we're both coaches. Of course we'd love it if you coach with us, but just know that it's valuable. It's valuable in today's voiceover industry to have another set of ears, to have a trusted coach, somebody. That's what they do. They've been established in the business that is guiding you along this career, which, again, is a marathon not a sprint. Good discussion, tom, yeah.  33:57 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Good discussion All right, tom.  33:58 - Anne (Host) Yeah, good discussion. All right guys. I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You too can network and connect like bosses, like real bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye.  34:13 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.   

The Communications Minister to meet with Optus bosses, following a succession of triple-zero outages; Australia's budget deficit shrinks to $10 billion; And in rugby, England's women's team celebrate their win over Canada.

Feeling stuck in your job but not sure what's next? In today's episode Shell unpacks:

» Produced by Hack You Media: pioneering a new category of content at the intersection of health performance, entrepreneurship & cognitive optimisation.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hackyoumedia/Website: https://hackyou.media/Michael Franzese was pulling in $10 million a week from a gas tax scheme that made him one of America's most powerful mobsters. Then he did something almost nobody survives: he walked away alive.In this conversation, Franzese strips away the Hollywood mythology and breaks down what real power looks like when your life depends on reading people correctly. We unpack the brutal stress of criminal operations, why most "tough guys" don't last, and how the negotiation tactics that kept him alive now close business deals.00:00 Introduction to Michael Franzese03:49 First arrests and early surveillance from law enforcement06:08 Building businesses and the multimillion-dollar gas tax scam08:00 Knowing it wouldn't last and how the scheme eventually collapsed11:04 What he misses about mob life and the lifestyle12:40 Cleaning millions in cash and dealing with foreign banks15:30 Whether the mob still operates in New York and Italy today18:10 Reputation, respect, and fearing the people above you19:33 Reflections on Frank Costello and doing business without violence22:02 Applying mob skills to legitimate business and negotiation23:31 Taking a plea deal and liquidating assets before prison26:30 Solitary, diesel therapy, and finding faith behind bars29:06 Rumours, witness lists, and suspicion after leaving the life32:14 The few mobsters who actually walked away successfully34:49 Becoming a global speaker and finding purpose in storytelling39:20 Pizza, vending machines, and building a new empire51:05 How the Armenian wine business unexpectedly took off57:16 Delegation, treating people well, and earning respect01:02:51 Missed opportunities, like skipping Starbucks stock early on01:05:46 Wanting peace, purpose, and more freedom in his 70s01:11:36 The weight of regret, purpose, and giving advice to youth01:16:44 Faith, fear of hell, and the path to redemption01:29:47 Beating the odds while nearly everyone else ends up dead or jailed» Escape the 9-5 & build your dream life - https://www.digitalplaybook.net/» Transform your physique - https://www.thrstapp.com/» My clothing brand, THRST - https://thrstofficial.com» Custom Bioniq supplements: https://www.bioniq.com/mikethurston• 40% off your first month of Bioniq GO• 20% off your first month of Bioniq PRO» Join our newsletter for actionable insights from every episode: https://thrst-letter.beehiiv.com/» Join @WHOOP and get your first month for free - join.whoop.com/FirstThingsThrst» Follow Michael«YouTube: @michaelfranzeseInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelfranzese_/?hl=enWine: https://franzesewine.com/Community: https://michaelfranzese.com/family/

Welcome to the Legend of Zelda Lorecast! Join us as we dive into the lore and material of the Legend of Zelda Franchise and explore all those questions that might be clawing their way into your brain.Email us your questions or episode ideas at: Allmightycrit@gmail.comPatreon: Legend of Zelda Lorecast | creating Podcast | PatreonTwitter: @LOZLorecastDiscord: https://discord.gg/c3bAuPJCv4Please Rate us, Share, And Enjoy! **Check out STL Ocarina and use our specific link to get 10% off:https://www.stlocarina.com/discount/LOZLore10Promo Code: LOZLORE10 **Check Out This Link And Save 10% Off Your Purchase Of Dice, Trays, Towers, Etc**Promo Code: ALLMIGHTYC10https://fanrolldice.com **Check This Site Out And Save 10% Off Your Purchase Of Switch Accessories**nyxigaming.comPromo Code: LOZLORE **Check Out This Site And Save 10% Off Your Purchase Of Dubby Energy Products**Promo Code: FUMBLING4Products – DUBBY Energy **Check Out Gopher Games And Save 15% Off Most Items**Gopher Games Check Out Our Merch: https://www.fumbling4store.com/ All sound effects and BGM were created and belong to the respective parties below:Intro/Outro Music by Bitonal Landscape:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/32oFEPdT33HPDPCJ7fB8wgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/bitonallandscape Monument Studios Check them out at: https://www.monumentstudios.netSonnis Check Them out at: https://sonniss.com/Tune Pocket Check Them Out At: https://tunepocket.com Mid Break Links:Master Sword Resin Light- TOTK Master Sword Resin Night Light - Gift for Gamer, Gaming Decor, Back to School Gift, , Halloween Decor, Link Zelda Decor Resin Lamp - EtsyRumour- New Zelda Lego Set Rumour Links It To Fan Favorite Entry- https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/09/rumour-new-zelda-lego-set-rumour-links-it-to-fan-favourite-entry Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by a very special guest, Aisha Manrique, a distinguished voice talent and coach whose voice resonates across the Caribbean and beyond. In this illuminating conversation, they explore the unique landscape of the Caribbean voiceover industry, where talent must build their careers through hustle and intentional branding. Aisha shares her inspiring journey, from being "divinely called" to the industry to becoming the voice of Disney.

Send us a textIn this episode, Todd and Jen are joined by Hello Hair Co. stylists, Brooke and Tori, for a special Q&A session. Instead of the usual format, the team flips the script—Brooke and Tori bring questions gathered from fellow stylists, salon groups, and their own experiences.From dress codes and business cards to cancellation policies and side hustles. An honest conversation, some strong opinions, and practical advice for salon owners and stylists navigating today's industry.Key TakeawaysDress Codes & Professionalism: Why some salons use all-black dress codes, and how freedom of expression can attract the right clientele.Business Cards vs. Digital Presence: The shift from traditional marketing tools to Google, Instagram, and automated client touchpoints.Loyalty Programs & Discounts: Why discounts often hurt more than they help — and why hospitality and surprise gestures build stronger loyalty.Cancellation Policies: The pitfalls of blanket cancellation rules and why people-first flexibility creates stronger long-term relationships.Side Hustles & Weddings: Why stylists' outside opportunities aren't a threat — and how integrity matters most.Levels & Promotions: Moving beyond old-school level systems to individualized growth, flexible raises, and price-point transparency.Team Culture & Retention: Why trust, communication, and respect for work–life balance keep teams strong over time.Timestamps[00:00] Intro: Todd, Jen, Brooke & Tori set the stage[01:00] Opening takes: goal setting, patience in learning, music licensing, and the realities of beauty school[07:00] Salon culture: why communication with leadership matters[10:00] Dress code debates: all black vs. individuality, professionalism, and jeans in the salon[17:00] Business cards in 2025: helpful or outdated?[22:00] Loyalty programs, discounts, and why hospitality wins[31:00] Cancellation policies: people-first vs. rigid enforcement (which never happens if we're being honest)[38:00] Time off, flexibility, and building a supportive culture[42:00] Side hustles and weddings: where ownership should (and shouldn't) step in[47:00] Level systems: old-school approaches vs. modern individualized growth[58:00] Final Q&A: taking back past employees and protecting team culture[01:04:00] Wrap-upLinks and Stuff:Our Newsletter Mentoring InquiriesFind more of our things:InstagramHello Hair Pro Website

In today's MadTech Daily, we discuss Google adding Gemini to Chrome and striking a multi-year AI partnership with PayPal, AI search threatening the survival of independent publishers, and UK broadcaster bosses dismissing merger speculation.

In this episode Shell is joined by Tahnee McWhirter from HumanX to tackle your work problems! They chat about:

In this solo episode of Sidequest, Dylan shares his spoiler filled thoughts on Hollow Knight: Silksong now that he has rolled credits on the game.Ad-Free version: www.patreon.com/c/GeekVerse LinksDylan on Twitter @DylanMussDylan on Backloggd backloggd.com/u/Rapatika/Dylan's games https://rapatika.itch.io/Taylor on Twitter @TaylorTheFieldKirklin on Twitter @kirklinpatzerTravis on Twitter @TravisBSnellBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/geekverse-podcast--4201268/support.

In this solo episode of Sidequest, Dylan shares his spoiler filled thoughts on Hollow Knight: Silksong now that he has rolled credits on the game.Ad-Free version: www.patreon.com/c/GeekVerse LinksDylan on Twitter @DylanMussDylan on Backloggd backloggd.com/u/Rapatika/Dylan's games https://rapatika.itch.io/Taylor on Twitter @TaylorTheFieldKirklin on Twitter @kirklinpatzerTravis on Twitter @TravisBSnell

John discusses Disney executives who are hopeful they can bring Jimmy Kimmel Live back to the airwaves but want a commitment from the host to “turn down the temperature” of his monologues and political humor. Which is of course, censorship. He also plays clips from FCC Chair Brendan Carr - bragging about his power to crush any broadcast political show he wants. Then, he talks with Richard Chew of WCPT in Chicago about Jimmy Kimmel, Charlie Kirk, and Trump's plans to send the National Guard to Chicago. Then finally, John welcomes back the 2 Taras to talk politics. Tara Devlin is a comedian and the host of the Tarabuster, where she looks at news, politics and history through an unapologetically liberal lens. Tara Dublin is a comedian and author of “The Sound of Settling: A Rock & Roll Love Story”. Together Tara Devlin and Tara Dublin are the co-hosts of The Tara Show podcast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

JLR doesn't recognize his bosses. Cilantro. Duji has an appointment for her cat. ABC has pulled Jimmy Kimmel from the air after he made comments about Charlie Kirk. Rover relates everything to Star Trek episodes. What happened to the piece of memorabilia Rover bought?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JLR doesn't recognize his bosses. Cilantro. Duji has an appointment for her cat. ABC has pulled Jimmy Kimmel from the air after he made comments about Charlie Kirk. Rover relates everything to Star Trek episodes. What happened to the piece of memorabilia Rover bought? Snitzer complains about how many opening acts there are at a concert. Watching an ad to dispense toilet paper in the bathroom. American tennis star, Taylor Townsend, apologizes for comments she made about Chinese food. Krystle was freaked out by her seafood boil. Rover has never cried tears of joy and did mushrooms in London. Rapper DaBaby releases a music video in tribute to Iryna Zarutska that recreates her death. Singer D4vd has the same tattoo as the 15-year-old girl found dead in his car. A 23-year-old girl in Dubai was caught with 50 grams of cocaine and was sentenced to life in prison. The Feds are asking for Charlie Javice, founder of Frank a college financial-aid platform, to serve 12 years in prison for defrauding JPMorgan our of $175 million dollars. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JLR doesn't recognize his bosses. Cilantro. Duji has an appointment for her cat. ABC has pulled Jimmy Kimmel from the air after he made comments about Charlie Kirk. Rover relates everything to Star Trek episodes. What happened to the piece of memorabilia Rover bought? Snitzer complains about how many opening acts there are at a concert. Watching an ad to dispense toilet paper in the bathroom. American tennis star, Taylor Townsend, apologizes for comments she made about Chinese food. Krystle was freaked out by her seafood boil. Rover has never cried tears of joy and did mushrooms in London. Rapper DaBaby releases a music video in tribute to Iryna Zarutska that recreates her death. Singer D4vd has the same tattoo as the 15-year-old girl found dead in his car. A 23-year-old girl in Dubai was caught with 50 grams of cocaine and was sentenced to life in prison. The Feds are asking for Charlie Javice, founder of Frank a college financial-aid platform, to serve 12 years in prison for defrauding JPMorgan our of $175 million dollars.

JLR doesn't recognize his bosses. Cilantro. Duji has an appointment for her cat. ABC has pulled Jimmy Kimmel from the air after he made comments about Charlie Kirk. Rover relates everything to Star Trek episodes. What happened to the piece of memorabilia Rover bought?

Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠Analytic Dreamz dives into Borderlands 4's chaotic September 12, 2025, release by Gearbox Software and 2K Games on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam/Epic—Switch 2 port hits October 3. Set on dystopian Kairos, this darker "soft reboot" trades Borderlands 3's memes for grounded resistance vibes, boasting 20-25 hour main story, 50-60 with sides, and 120-170 completionist runs. Sales exploded: 1M+ on Steam in days, another 1M+ consoles pre-Switch, 5M units in 48 hours (franchise-fastest), pushing lifetime totals past 100M ($150M+ revenue). Peak concurrents hit 304,398 (#46 Steam all-time), outpacing Hollow Knight: Silksong's 587,150 but at $70 vs. $20.Critics laud Metacritic 84/PC and OpenCritic 85 ("Mighty" top 7%) for exhilarating gunplay, loot depth, seamless open world (no loading zones), and co-op—IGN 8/10, GameSpot 7/10 praise mobility like double-jumps, grappling, and hybrid "Licensed Parts" weapons blending 8 manufacturers. Bosses demand 10+ minute multi-phase mechanics, not sponges. But "Stutterlands 4" memes rage over Unreal Engine 5 woes: PC stuttering, RTX 4090 FPS drops, crashes, memory leaks; consoles locked at 70° FOV, no motion blur toggle. Day 1 patch helped, but corrupted saves, UI glitches persist—Steam reviews "Mixed."Controversies fuel toxicity: Pre-launch EULA "spyware" rumors (debunked), Pitchford's "$80 real fans" tweet sparking piracy threats, $130 Super Deluxe skimping DLC vs. BL3's $100 Ultimate. Post-launch, Pitchford's "build your own engine" clapback ignited review-bombs. Community splits on Reddit/X: Co-op bliss and Easter eggs (Noisy Cricket, bobbleheads) vs. bland villain, pricing gripes. Analytic Dreamz unpacks if patches salvage this loot-shooter gem amid franchise highs and dev drama—tune in for the full fallout.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The UK and US are set to announce deeper co-operation on digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, a UN commission concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and Mario Draghi has warned that the EU's economic competitiveness is on the retreat due to “inaction” by Brussels. Plus, Donald Trump's administration is shifting the balance of power from shareholders to company bosses.Mentioned in this podcast:UK set to announce closer co-operation with US on cryptocurrenciesIsrael launches ground invasion of Gaza CityEU economy falls behind global rivals due to ‘complacency', warns Mario DraghiDonald Trump tilts balance of power from investors to CEOsToday's FT News Briefing was produced by Katya Kumkova, Sonja Hutson, and Marc Filippino. Additional help from Kelly Garry and Michael Lello. The FT's acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show's theme music is by Metaphor Music. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queen City Confessions Wednesday 9/17/25

BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by the incomparable Melique Berger, a true icon in the voiceover world with over 50 years of acting experience. In this powerful conversation, they explore the central truth of the industry: a voice actor must be an actor first.  

DIVORCE PAPERS IN FRONT OF HER LOVER, VIDEOS TO HER 4 BOSSES, EMAILS TO THEIR WIVESBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-cheating-wives-and-girlfriends-stories-2025-true-cheating-stories-podcast--5689182/support.

A Kent mum at the centre of an online storm says she “absolutely” regrets posting a controversial TikTok video about the murder of US activist Charlie Kirk – but insists her words have been “totally misconstrued”.She's been bombarded with vile threats and even had her business kicked out of the county's largest indoor market after she uploaded a clip in the wake of the 31-year-old's death.Also in today's podcast, a mum whose partner died in a building site accident has told how her life has “completely changed” since the tragedy - and how she stays strong for their children.David Archer suffered fatal injuries two years ago when he fell down a manhole at an unfinished housing estate in Ramsgate.The KentOnline Podcast has been told 200 species in Kent are at risk - and £3 million is needed to help save them.Bosses at Kent Wildlife Trust have launched their most ambitious fundraiser as they say we're facing a nature crisis.Handmade poppies in memory of men who lost their lives during the second world war have gone on display at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham.The Threads of Remembrance installation also marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the conflict.And in football, the draw has been made for the third qualifying round of the FA Cup.We've got a full list of fixtures for teams across the county.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of TLO Headlines cohosts Matt Sunbulli and Aaron Calafato dig into last week's historic jobs revision number (1 million fewer jobs), why executives and workers see the economy so differently, and what “span of control” means when your manager has 20+ direct reports. Finally, they wrap with culture (Severance, The Studio) and the rise of chaotic workplace TV as a mirror of the anxiety that today's professionals feel. Hosts: Matt Sunbulli https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunbulli/ https://www.firstdraft.vc/ Aaron Calafato https://www.7minutestoriespod.com/

DIVORCE PAPERS IN FRONT OF HER LOVER, VIDEOS TO HER 4 BOSSES, EMAILS TO THEIR WIVESBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/true-cheating-wives-and-girlfriends-stories-2025-true-cheating-stories-podcast--5689182/support.

Discover the transformative power of empowerment in this episode as host Andrew Brewer sits down with John Boswell, Chief Operating Officer of Zoe Empowers. Learn how Zoe Empowers is revolutionizing charitable work by guiding orphaned and vulnerable youth in the poorest regions of Africa and India from dependency to self-sufficiency through a unique, locally-driven three-year program. Boswell shares inspiring stories of resilience, explains why true change comes from within communities, and reveals how a modest investment can yield life-changing returns. Whether you're passionate about global health, sustainable development, or simply want to hear how hope and opportunity can break the cycle of poverty, this conversation will leave you inspired and informed. Learn more about John here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johngboswell/ Learn more about Zoe Empowers here: https://zoeempowers.org/

Parking charges at one of Kent's most popular shopping destinations have been branded “insulting” after rising for the third time in as many years.Ashford Designer Outlet has increased its minimum parking fee to £3 for four hours - up from £2.50 last year and £2 the year before.Also in today's podcast, a serial burglar has been jailed again after cutting a hole in Bluewater shopping centre's roof and stealing £1.4million worth of watches.The notorious thief, who has previously targeted the home of Lord Alan Sugar, was on licence when he targeted Watchfinder at the shopping complex in February.There's just one month to go until the new Entry/Exit System is rolled out in Dover and Folkestone. It will involve people from non-EU countries – such as the UK – having their fingerprints registered and photograph taken to enter the EU but we're being assured it won't lead to long delays and backlogs of traffic. In football Gillingham will face a different kind of challenge this weekend as they look to maintain their impressive start to the season.The Gills welcome Notts County to Priestfield this Saturday – you can hear from boss Gareth Ainsworth and midfielder Jonny Williams. And we've spoken to the boss of a textile business in Kent who welcomed the Princess of Wales for a royal visit. Kate was at the Marina Mill in Cuxton as part of a series of engagements celebrating the British textile industry.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does the sacking of Peter Mandelson mean for Keir Starmer? Does Vladimir Putin want war with NATO? Is the UK at risk of an uptick in political violence?Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Jessica Hayden, Katie Gunning and Bernard Gray as they each try to pitch the top story of the day.Find the team's must reads:Bosses can reject applicants who support rival football teamCultural Capital**Join us at the News Meeting Live on Tuesday 23rd September at 6:30pm** Rebecca Moore will be joined by David Aaronovitch, Claudia Williams and Jon Ungoed-Thomas. Get your tickets → HERE**We want to hear what you think! Email us at: newsmeeting@observer.co.uk Follow us on Social Media: @ObserverUK on X @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok@theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky Host: Rebecca MooreProducer: Poppy BullardExecutive Producer: Jasper Corbett and Matt Russell To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a single, childless 30-year-old woman, I don't have all the answers. Still, I've found my role in the village: being a supportive auntie to young women navigating topics they'd rather not discuss with their parents.This all started when I worked with teenage girls one summer a couple of years ago. I realized that while I'd been stumbling through my twenties, trying to hold down my jobs and avoid financial ruin, I'd actually learned a few things about the female experience that could be valuable to them. These girls were 15 and were just starting to have their first relationships. That got me thinking. Getting pregnant in your teens when you don't want to be is a big freaking deal. Soon, I was pulling them aside and saying,“If you ever need Plan B or anything else, just let me know.” Then I typed my number into their phones.Send this to your most responsible female friend, lol

BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by her lovely co-host, Danielle Famble, for the Boss Money Talk Series. The BOSSes tackle a fundamental challenge of a voiceover freelance career: managing inconsistent income. Drawing from her past job experiences, Danielle shares practical wisdom on how to budget, save, and build a financial cushion. This conversation redefines "budgeting" as a tool for empowerment and offers a strategic roadmap for every voice actor to take control of their finances, ensure stability, and thrive.   00:00 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, are you ready to achieve those dreams? With MyLife Transformation coaching services, I can help you reach your full potential. Don't let fear and uncertainty hold you back. Take control of your life today. Visit anneganguzza.com to get started.  00:20 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.  00:39 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss Podcast and the Boss Money Talk Series. I'm Anne Ganguzza and I am here with my lovely co-host, Danielle Famble.  00:49 - Danielle (Guest) Hey Anne, hello Danielle, hey, hey, how you doing, how are you? I'm good, I'm good, I'm good.  00:53 - Anne (Host) Well, I am glad to have you back and I have a topic for discussion today, because I've had, on more than one occasion, some students recently talk to me about gosh. I'm just having a hard time finding work and I don't know if I should continue to stay in this industry because it's just getting too hard. I mean to sustain it, and so what should I do? It would be a worthy topic of discussion to talk about, like this particular industry and how we handle our financial situation in times of inconsistency, because it's just a known fact, guys, bosses out there, it is an inconsistent, it is part of being an entrepreneur. Our, our income is inconsistent. So what do we do and how do we budget for those times when maybe it's slow or, you know, when it's not slow, and what do we do when we have inconsistent income?  01:55 - Danielle (Guest) That's such a good question. That's a big part of being a boss, being an entrepreneur and being in this business, and it's good to give the perspective one you know to your students that you're coaching and to anyone listening. You're not alone. It doesn't mean that you're a bad voice actor. It doesn't mean that you're bad at this business. That is the nature of what it is, that we do, and so it has nothing to do with you or your worth or the fact that you're not good. Slow months happen all the time. It happens to the best of us.  02:24 - Anne (Host) And you know, I think it's really something a point worth mentioning is I've been in this industry about 18 years and it's always inconsistent, like there's not been a year where it hasn't been inconsistent. So it is something that I think, if you plan correctly and you're prepared for, it doesn't come as a surprise and it's something that you can absolutely continue to grow and build your business through oh, totally Inconsistent income. So, as long as you plan and strategize, yeah, and you just know this is normal.  02:56 - Danielle (Guest) This has not got anything to do with you. This is a normal thing, you know. It reminds me of I don't know if you know this, anne, but I used to be a waitress for a long, long time. I was a waitress at comedy clubs and the way that I made my money was on tips, and so I got used to living on an inconsistent income and realizing that there's going to be a couple of days or weeks or months where it's going to be great and then it's going to be slow. Maybe you get cut because it's so slow that they don't need you to be there. But you know, the thing that didn't get cut was my fixed expenses, my rent, my cell phone bill, all of those things.  03:35 So I would say to those are stable. Yeah, figure out what your stable expenses are and make sure that you can keep that as your base and plan for your base Anything on top of that. You know when times are great and when you're making a lot more money, you can use that to keep it to the side for a buffer, but really just know what your base expenses are, which then goes back to our longstanding conversation about knowing your numbers and the data and everything else. If you're too afraid to look at what your expenses are, you're not going to know what your base is that you need to be able to maintain at all times. So really like have the courage, look at what are your expenses that are fixed, that are stable, and know what your base is, and you want to be able to hit your base every single month.  04:22 - Anne (Host) So then, budget around your worst month, not your best month. Yeah, absolutely Right. And and that and the and the numbers on your worst month can can actually like I. I mean, I could say what are your expenses and your worst month would be you didn't make anything. Budget around that. That's what I would say. Right, that's your worst case scenario, and so you'll still need to be able to function. And so what does that mean in terms of if I don't make any income for an entire month, does that mean I should give up my voiceover business, danielle?  04:54 - Danielle (Guest) I don't think so, but I do think that you do need to have some way of knowing that there is income coming in from another form. So maybe it's not the income coming in from your voiceover business, because you didn't make anything that month but you do have a nine to five or you do have a babysitting job or you do have. You know, you do Uber on the weekends or what have you. Just know that there needs to be, that money needs to be coming in from somewhere else. If it's not coming in from somewhere else, then we need to find how can we get to our first dollar. Is it in voiceover? Is it in another way of making money? But make sure that you know that there is some income coming in so that, even if the income from your voiceover business is at zero for the month, you know that there is income coming in from somewhere else that's going to be able to offset and still hit your baseline goal.  05:43 - Anne (Host) And I think your budget right for those months you don't live on that budget. I mean it should be a budget for a budget that is a low-income month, not necessarily like I'm going to continue to go to Starbucks every morning or I'm going to. Maybe that's a necessity, maybe you feel like that's worked into your bare necessities, but is that something that you're willing to give up in a low-income month? Or is going out to dinner? I think that's the biggest one. I think, like my husband and I are like okay, we got to stop going out to dinner, right, because that's an unnecessary expense. If we're trying to tighten our budget during a low-income month, it's mostly like oh, and we're going to go out and spend money doing this, or are we going to go out and spend money doing that? A lot of times it's based around food. Why is that?  06:25 - Danielle (Guest) Yeah, I mean, that's mine as well. It's food, but then sometimes it's you know, if you're going to be spending additional money on things in your business, maybe it's that you forego coaching for the next couple of months because you don't really have the money for that, or maybe you need to forego some other things in your business and subscriptions that maybe can be paused. It's not just what you're doing in your life, it's also things that you can cut back in your business too, so that you can make sure that you know. You know, I know that my fixed expenses for the operations of me are this these are the things that will you know, that are always going to stay the same my housing, food, you know, basic necessities, business expenses.  07:10 - Anne (Host) Business expenses as well, I'm going to say rocket money. I had a free trial and I used it. It's great for finding out those recurring monthly expenses that you have that all of a sudden like oh, that Sirius XM like subscription that I have for my car, which I don't drive very often because I work from home, right, but now I can play SiriusXM everywhere, but still that subscription costs, and it used to only cost like $12.99. Now it's like $25 a month, and so that can help you keep track of those subscriptions that creep up on you that you may or may not be utilizing.  07:44 - Danielle (Guest) And everything is a subscription nowadays, so really you have to. It's so sneaky, but you can find a lot of unused subscriptions and then you can recoup some of that money back just by saying no, thank you to those subscriptions.  07:59 - Anne (Host) Think about your Starbucks as a subscription. That's true, really, if it's something you do every day, I mean really. I mean I know there's a lot of people that that's a daily habit, and you know. Think of that as a subscription. And one other thing I wanted to mention, and I would not have even thought of this really until I incorporated and became an S Corp but I am required to pay myself a salary, right, and that's something that you know.  08:22 When you're trying to like skimp on your, your budget, or you're trying to figure out your expenses, don't forget you need money to live, you need money to buy the groceries, you need money to pay the rent you need, and so I think it's always a good idea, even if you're not an S-corp, to really kind of think about here's the money coming in. A portion of that should be set aside for my expenses, for me, right, that's my salary, and then pay yourself on a set schedule. I think that helps you really get an idea as to okay, here's the money I need to live on, here's the money that's profiting in my business. I don't know. It's just one of those things that maybe it's worth it to take a look at.  09:03 - Danielle (Guest) Absolutely. That should be a core staple that everyone should be doing is you know we're doing this. We're in business to make a profit, and so the idea is I need to get paid, and making sure that you pay yourself first so that you are getting used to, and your business is getting used to, that expense of making sure you're paid. That's the study and that's actually how you can stay steady is okay. I know that I'm going to be paying myself a certain amount every single month. That is the expense of my business to pay me, but that's also how I'm able to pay my bills, keeping that steady, and it doesn't need to be that you wait until you are an S-Corp to do that. I would say try to start doing that as quickly as possible. Once you have established the fact that you're doing this business, you're in business.  09:51 - Anne (Host) I would not have realized that until you know I really started an S-Corp and I should have actually. Again, I needed to take a look at the numbers.  09:59 - Danielle (Guest) Here's the deal when you do have those lean months, it doesn't come as such a shock no-transcript Because if you wait, that is going to be a surprise likely to you where you're not really expecting it. And then you get into a really unfortunate situation where this inconsistent income has caused an inconsistent pattern in how you're paying yourself and how you're putting money to the side. So make sure that when you're paying yourself you're also making sure to take care of your tax liabilities.  11:01 - Anne (Host) Yes, Excellent idea. And another thing, as I look at you here in your brand new, shiny, sparkly studio, right and we've talked about this so many times before is having that financial cushion, right, Having that emergency fund. But I think honestly, like, if you can have more than just that emergency fund, which doesn't get touched under the extreme circumstances of an emergency, but consider having another fund which is, you know, just a one to three cushion fund, right, Right that you have to live in the event that you have a slow month, right, and having that separate fund where you feel secure and confident that you can take from that fund and you're not dipping into that emergency fund. Because I always feel guilty if I'm dipping into my emergency fund. Well, number one, because my emergency fund is heavily invested in my high-yield savings account, which doesn't mean that you can't have a one to three-month cushion also sitting in a high-yield savings account, and so I always feel like, oh, I don't want to touch that because I want to keep earning interest on the greatest amount of money possible Sure yeah.  12:06 And so that's my emergency fund, but also maybe having a separate fund just for, oh, times are lean this month and you know, and I'm going to say, maybe, in order to give me better mental health, I do need a Starbucks today or I do need a pair of earrings today. But I'm going to be a caution. I'm going to caution people to not necessarily go out and shop your, your financial worries away, because you know, that's me. I've definitely been in that trap where, oh, I just need to feel better. Let me go out and buy some new clothes, yeah, or a new lipstick, yeah.  12:41 I think try not to do that. But you know, I think that one to three month other fund that you have will help you to pay the bills.  12:47 - Danielle (Guest) Absolutely. And so then you can use sort of a system where you're making sure that when things are inconsistent and times are a little bit leaner and you're not making as much money, you know what your baseline, your core base expenses are. And then, when things are going really well and you're making a lot more money and you had a really great month, you put some of that money to the side in that cushion fund that's not your emergency fund and when things are low, you use that cushion fund to make sure that you're staying afloat. I like that sort of cycle of making sure that you are taking care of yourself. It's not necessarily feast or famine when things are going really well.  13:28 You have already looked ahead and taken care of yourself, because you know that this is a cyclical business, this is inconsistent. It's an inconsistent income kind of business and you know that one day you're going to need to use the money that you are currently making. Don't just spend everything that you're making. Put it to the side so that when it is inconsistent and when it is a slower month, you're pulling from the times when you had a really great month to keep yourself, you know, in balance. And that's, I think, the way to do it is you should look at this month or any given month, as am I taking care of me now, or am I taking care of me now and me in the future? But always make sure that you are doing that delicate balance.  14:16 - Anne (Host) Speaking of, you know, setting aside money for taxes, and setting aside, you know, that money. Don't forget about retirement guys. Don't forget about a retirement fund. Please don't forget about retirement. One thing I want to say is that and I'm not a money girl, right, or I never thought of myself as a money girl, but can I just tell you, the software companies are making it easier and easier. Like your credit cards are now categorizing your spending, right, Because, of course, they want you to use the credit card more. So they're going to categorize it and you can find out where your expenses are going, and if you use the credit card, you can get 3% back. Blah, blah, blah, blah blah. They want to encourage credit card spending, but also you can use that as a method for really finding out where is all your money going.  14:57 Quickbooks like I never thought. Like my QuickBooks Online. Like you can generate a report literally a report in a matter of seconds, Whereas before it used to be really difficult, man, If you were doing like spreadsheets. And I don't know, Danielle, I can't remember what product you use, but I mean I need something simple, something that does the work for me. Some people are really hardcore and go right into the Excel spreadsheet and that's how they track their budget. But, like for me, I just generate, I flip, I generate a report really quickly in QuickBooks and it tells me, oh my gosh, I spent so much money this month on my expenses going out versus what was coming in, and so I can really then make an educated and strategized decision based upon those reports.  15:39 And I can do, I can generate those reports at the flick of a button. And even if I hate finances right which I know a lot of people don't like to look at their, their money yeah, it's again one of those things. This is your business and it is something that, if you're not looking at it, pay somebody else to do it, like my accountant. Then talk with your accountant and say, hey, look, where's all my money going. Or I found that I had a slow month. And then have that weekly meeting or that monthly meeting that says here, OK, they can break it down for you and say, look, you're, they can generate the reports and they say, look, here's what you're spending on lipstick and or here's what you're spending on restaurants going out, and here's where you can maybe potentially save money. Or think about taking this money that you have left over and putting it into this type of an investment account.  16:23 - Danielle (Guest) This money that you have left over and putting it into this type of an investment account and taking care of future you.  16:29 So you've got sort of the shorter term future you of this one to three months cushion for when times are lean. You've got your emergency fund, which usually I say you know, six to eight months I say closer to for me, yeah, six to eight months, which is a pretty big emergency fund, but that's because we're self-employed and so I want to have a pretty good cushion, or the longer term fund being your retirement. And there are ways, depending on how you have it set up, where, if you're investing in your retirement account, that helps you in tax time because it might lower the amount that you are paying on your taxes.  17:05 So it is always forward looking. It's looking at what's happening today and it's looking at what would be happening in the shorter term future or longer term future. And how can you use the windfall that you have or maybe are not experiencing now? How can you use that to keep you afloat, you know, with your core base expenses. But it really is again going back to do. You know what those core base expenses are Right, and how can you stay, you know, level with them. And if you need to dip into the bank of you, then you can do that with no shame and no problem, knowing that you've already done the work to take care of yourself.  17:44 - Anne (Host) From a girl that's a little less of a money girl to a girl who is a money girl. One thing that always sneaks up on me are those antics annual fees or the recurring right subscriptions or that come up once a year. Because I went from let's not do it every month, let's save and let's do yearly subscriptions, but every once in a while, if I'm not paying attention, that yearly subscription will come up and it'll be taken out of my account and I'll be like whoa, how do you do you prepare yourself? I do For those things. So talk about how you prepare you know some of those things.  18:18 - Danielle (Guest) you know we use the word like surprise expenses, when, like it's kind of like these are super noble things, like yeah, I signed up for that credit card that has that high annual fee.  18:27 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It was me.  18:28 - Danielle (Guest) It wasn't like some, somebody impersonating me Right large expense, that is, a knowable expense. I typically will put a calendar alert in a month in advance so that I can remind myself that this is coming. For example, my credit cards. I have the American Express Platinum card, I have the American Express Gold card and they have very high annual fees and for some reason I applied for them around the same time of the year and different years. So they, the annual fees, they come and they hit like roughly, like right, one after the other and I always think to myself Danielle, what did you do?  19:05 Why did you do that? Why did you do that? Why did what were you doing in December that you really needed a new credit? Why did you do that right in the same time. And that's, you know, my own personal journey. But I know that it's coming, so I can prepare either a little bit every single month to make sure I'm ready for that, yeah, or because I've given myself that calendar alert saying hey, danielle, just so you know this is coming up next month, I'm already mentally and financially prepared that that hit is about to happen. Most of those, you know, those subscriptions, those annual subscriptions, those are things that are knowable expenses, albeit big expenses. So your calendar is your very best friend. Give yourself the heads up and know that it's coming.  19:49 - Anne (Host) I agree I live by my calendar anyway for a day-to-day schedule of things that I'm doing. And I think if you have a calendar, a financial calendar, I mean my goodness. I mean you could make an easy financial calendar. I use Google Calendar for everything and they're color-coded when do I have coaching sessions? When do I have monthly workouts coming up, when do I have all of these things, holidays and that sort of thing, so you could have a financial calendar that has all of your subscription renewals and or your monthly costs, like those base costs that we talked about, so that you're prepared.  20:25 This month I'm going to plan on spending this amount of money. And also, again, it's one of those things that if you have an accounting software that can be generated in an accounting software easily, your monthly budget, absolutely, and you know it's something that you need to like. And again, I'm talking from a girl. I'm not a money girl, but I have to force myself to do that and take a hard look at what's going out every month and how can I cut? And I recently just said, ok, how can I trim the budget in my company, because I had been like, oh, let me try this software. I'm a big risk taker Danielle, and we talk about this thing, I hoard software too.  21:04 Yeah, I buy software subscriptions, I try things out and then I forget about them sometimes right.  21:10 I was like, oh, I haven't used it. I tried that out, I paid for the subscription, I forgot about it. So every once in a while I have to revisit what am I putting my money into, and has it given me a return on my investment? And if not, I need to trim the fat. And so I really I did that more recently so that I could have money to invest in something different.  21:31 So again I had, and I invest in in people who who work for me, and again I wanted to invest in some additional advertising, and so I needed to get that money from somewhere Right. So I had to kind of figure out where can I consolidate my expenses Right? Can I get, now that you know I've evolved in my business so many years, maybe I don't need this particular, I don't need as much social media, maybe I don't need, you know, that monthly subscription to this particular? You know, pay to play. Am I really using this pay to play?  22:07 And again, you know, figure out what am I? Where's my money coming in? Where am I making the most of my money? And do I want to reinvest my money coming in into that, into getting more of that, or do I want to reinvest my money coming in into that, into getting more of that, or do I want to diversify and maybe explore another genre of voiceover, or I want to get more voiceover work in this particular genre? What's it going to take for me to get there? So I think, really again taking a look at the money, and if you hate looking at money, I suggest, even if you hate looking at money, it's something that you got to do. Consider it an education in running your own business.  22:40 - Danielle (Guest) I would consider, if you hate looking at money, that you really need to look at money.  22:46 - Anne (Host) If you don't like it, then you really need to do it If you don't like it, that's a flag.  22:50 - Danielle (Guest) That's a flag, that's a flag. Run toward it, run toward it.  22:55 - Anne (Host) I love it.  22:55 - Danielle (Guest) I was told by my financial advisor to have money dates with myself, and I think what you're talking about would be a really great thing to do twice a year of these sinking funds, these mini emergency fund or emergency fund, so that you know where you need to divert more of your money in the good months, in the months where you're making so much more money than you planned for. That's really a great thing to do and I would say once or twice a year to reevaluate that, because maybe your one to three month or your short term emergency fund, let's say, is about a couple thousand dollars under. So you know. Ok, you know what. Why don't I put my money and my focus on beefing that up so that when we have these inconsistent months or when we have lower months, I know that I'm good. You won't know until you take the time to really look at it. So give yourself the money date of taking a real look at your money and knowing your numbers about what is your core expenses, what can you maybe trim or what can you press pause on, and then what can you run toward when it's time and when you have the money for it.  24:18 I love the idea of sinking funds. You have a fund specifically for your education, for your just slower months, for things that you do when you book that really big job and maybe you want to take yourself on a nice you know nice dinner or something like that like ways to celebrate. You can have multiple of these sinking funds. That's what something like that, like ways to celebrate. You can have multiple of these, these sinking funds. That's what I like about some of these online accounts where you can have a bank account that will give you an unlimited number of smaller, you know, virtual accounts where you can just put that money to the side I love that that's great.  24:52 - Anne (Host) It's a really great hack that I use.  24:54 That's a new concept and and what I like.  24:57 What I like about how you're talking and you're phrasing this whole conversation is you're talking about funds, right, you're talking about fund accounts, yeah, versus when, when and I don't know if this is just me and my age, but, like whenever I was talked about, well, you need to set up a budget that had a negative connotation and that meant that I wasn't making the money that I should have been making, or I was. You know what I mean? I was somehow lacking in whatever, mostly in money, right, I was lacking in money and the ability to either manage my money or whatever it was, but it had a negative connotation and I think that we need to reframe that whole concept. Again, if we talk about, like, money blocks, right, it could be a form of a money block and, in reality, the term budget, you can rephrase it to say you know, your money funds or your fund account it's giving you more of like a permission to celebrate it because you are strategizing, you are creating a future with a purpose, yes, and your purpose is focused, strategized and smart.  26:03 - Danielle (Guest) Absolutely, and it's purposeful. It's what you've decided that you're going to do. So budgeting for me, when I think about it, it's what am I deciding that I'm going to be spending my money on and this money is allocated towards that thing that I already decided. If you take away the concept that a budget is restricting you, it's not restricting you. It's where you have already pre-purposed and pre-determined where your money is going to go, and then you just do as you set out. It gives you freedom and it puts you in the driver's seat. You decided that you want to spend your money on the Starbucks or your whatever, and isn't that what we?  26:44 - Anne (Host) yeah, Exactly, Isn't that what we decided? Bosses right, we are in the driver's seat. We are the boss Totally, and you know you need to be the boss of all aspects of this business. And I think, if you really take a look at your budgets and or your funding accounts and I love what you just said about the virtual accounts there, Danielle that's a concept that I actually was not aware of, so now I'm going to be researching that because I love that, I love being able to it's like my content buckets for social media, right? This?  27:15 is going to be my fund buckets for Ann's Lipstick, no, for my business. Right For that Starbucks account. I've got money in it. So I think that really gives us a much clearer strategy and purpose when really looking at our business. And again, you always want to go forward and move forward in your business and this is one way that you guys can get there Totally.  27:38 - Danielle (Guest) You are in the driver's seat. These are not things happening to you. You can make the decision as to where you spend your money when it comes, and if you need to dip into the bank of you so that you future you is taken care of, because the you of today did the work to make sure that they were taking care of future. You Love that. That's. What I love about being an entrepreneur is that I'm taking responsibility for myself and taking care of responsibility of myself today and also future me, by putting money into the spending buckets or to the sinking funds, to my retirement account, to my emergency fund, and then I am making these financial decisions with me in mind, because that's my job is to take care of myself and also the people that are around me that I touch with my business, with my life, with my purpose.  28:32 - Anne (Host) And with that lovely words of wisdom, danielle, I'm going to thank you so much. What a great conversation. Yeah, this is a great conversation. Love it, love it, love it. Bosses, I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like the money boss that Danielle is. I absolutely love it. I love, love, loved our conversation. Thank you again, bosses. Have an amazing week and we will see you next week. Bye.  28:58 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Bye. Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.   

Joel Hilchey, the CEO of Beanstalk Creative which provides keynotes, training, and workshops that are designed to empower and inspire participants to reach their … Read more The post Simple Ways Bosses Can Become a Little Less Terrible appeared first on Top Entrepreneurs Podcast | Enterprise Podcast Network.

The owner of several vape shops says he's not the criminal he's being made out to be and claims he's being “harassed” and “targeted” by the authorities. It's after a new report accused him of an “ongoing pattern of criminal behaviour”, from underage sales to selling fake designer goods and illegal products. Also in today's podcast, a body has been discovered in the sea amid a search for a missing woman.Police and the coastguard were called to St Margaret's Bay yesterday afternoon. A family-run hotel has been forced to deny rumours it is housing asylum seekers after organisers of an anti-immigration protest planned to demonstrate outside.Bosses at The King Charles Hotel have slammed claims it was housing people under government schemes as “completely untrue”.A campaign urging action on the impact of smartphones and social media on students has gained the support for a local MP. You can hear from Independent Rosie Duffield who was at a public meeting held by Whitstable Unplugged - a local group pushing for more regulation. And a much-loved community marching band has been granted an extension to stay in its home while it battles to find a permanent solution.The St John Ambulance music group on Sheppey, the last of its kind, was first handed an eviction notice at the end of June.

In this episode of WORK, Erika reflects on lessons from the Work Like a Girl event in Boston and why optimism may be the most powerful leadership skill. She then unpacks viral business stories, including the Applebee’s executive who went on to become CEO of IHOP and eventually bought Applebee’s, and Brian Chesky's (Airbnb CEO) reminder that the future waits for no one. Erika also breaks down the surprising stat that three in four Gen Z workers bring their parents into job interviews. Later, Jack Fischer, from the finance team at Food52, joins to share insights on building trust, challenging executive assumptions, and the importance of financial transparency at work. Finally, journalist and photographer Nadja Sayej discusses her career in the gig economy, the decline of traditional journalism, navigating celebrity culture, and how she’s building a creative legacy on her own terms.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thank you to Mando, The Perfect Jean & Harry's for sponsoring this episode! #ad - Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @shop.mando and get $5 off off your Starter Pack (that's over 40% off) with promo code POGCAST at https://www.shopmando.com #mandopod - F*%k your khakis and get The Perfect Jean 15% off with the code POGCAST15 at https://www.theperfectjean.nyc/POGCAST15 #theperfectjeanpod - Our listeners get the Harry's Trial Set for only $8 + a Free Gift at https://harrys.com/POGAST #Harryspod CHECK OUT THE PATREON! - https://www.patreon.com/ThePogcastPod On this episode of the Pogcast we discuss the recent showcase of some Tarkov 1.0 content at Pax West. We also dive more into Veritas' GeoGuessr ranked grind! Check it out! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro Banter 00:01:54 - Veritas' Tarkov Raid 00:04:30 - The Finals and CounterStrike 00:28:22 - MANDO 00:32:14 - Tarkov Zero to Hero Raids 00:42:09 - The State of Tarkov AI 01:00:02 - The Perfect Jean! 01:03:24 - Tarkov 1.0 Tease at PAX 01"20"55 - Harry's 01:24:11 - GeoGuessr Check out JesseKazam Twitch: http://Twitch.tv/jessekazam YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/jessekazam Twitter: http://Twitter.com/jessekazam Discord: https://discord.gg/jessekazam Check out Veritas Twitch: http://Twitch.tv/Veritas YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VeritasGames Twitter: http://twitter.com/veriitasgames Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2S6iwClVoSNnpOcCzyMeUj Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's actual Watson news, the pups are on board for the latest Sherlock & Co.'s "Missing Three Quarter" adaptation, and who missed a certain week in Liverpool. 

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P.M. Edition for Aug. 29. This week, Microsoft became the latest company to crack down on political dissent among its employees. We hear from WSJ reporter Lindsay Ellis on why corporate leaders are adopting a new, harder-line playbook for dealing with political debate at work. Plus, the Trump administration said it's using an untested strategy to rescind about $5 billion in foreign aid without congressional approval. Journal congressional reporter Siobhan Hughes discusses the backlash on the Hill and what's at stake. And Kraft Heinz nears a breakup, a move that would undo an infamous 2015 merger. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by Tom Dheere to tackle a topic many voice actors fear most: marketing. In this episode, they break down the essential difference between direct marketing (you go to them) and indirect marketing (they come to you). The hosts discuss how to make both strategies work for you, offering a powerful, actionable roadmap for building a sustainable voiceover business. 00:01 - Anne (Host) Hey boss listeners. Are you ready to turn your voiceover career goals into achievements? With my personalized coaching and demo production, I'm here to help you reach new milestones. You know you're already part of a boss community that strives for the very best. Let's elevate that. Your success is my next project. Find out more at anneganguzza.com.  00:25 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.  00:44 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Real Boss series. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and I'm here with Mr Tom Dheere. Hello, hello, hello, the Real Boss, Tom Dheere.  00:56 - Tom (Guest) Hi, I'm seeing the light ring in my glasses. I'm going to change. I want to change these.  01:01 - Anne (Host) Wait, I thought you said I'm seeing the light.  01:03 - Tom (Guest) I'm seeing the light. Well, yeah, no, but the light was seeing me and my glasses, so I'm switching over. I have, like different pairs of glasses for where I'm at.  01:11 - Anne (Host) No, really. So like these are better. I hear that. I hear that Yours are part of a marketing strategy.  01:18 - Tom (Guest) Mine are purely because my eyeballs are decomposing. I can hear them.  01:22 - Anne (Host) But me too, though, I need them as well, and I figure I might as well make them part of a marketing strategy. And speaking of marketing, yes. Great segue, isn't it? I think it's one of the most feared things for any voice actor is to actually think and do marketing, and so it's a great topic to talk about, because, I mean, we could talk like multiple podcasts about it, but let's talk about marketing Indirect marketing, direct marketing. They're both important.  01:49 - Tom (Guest) Yes, absolutely.  01:50 - Anne (Host) Let's distinguish the difference.  01:52 - Tom (Guest) Right, and this is the thing that when most people come into the voiceover industry, they think and their instinct is correct, so I need to market myself. What does that mean? For most people, it's slamming into social media sideways and talking about what they had for breakfast, or it most often means cold calls and cold emails. Now, you can clearly lump all of that stuff together into marketing, but there's a lot more to it. It's a lot more nuanced than that.  02:18 - Anne (Host) You say the word cold calls and I think people go cold. I know they do. They're like oh no cold calls now.  02:25 - Tom (Guest) So the way I talk about it is that there is direct marketing and then there is indirect marketing, also known as active marketing or passive marketing. So direct or active marketing is when you are seeking out specific potential clients and you are basically grabbing them by the lapels and saying, hey, you give me money to say stuff out loud.  02:48 - Anne (Host) Here I am. Hello, this is me.  02:50 - Tom (Guest) Hello, right Now that's a cold call, that is a cold email. There's also follow-up emails and getting your seven touches.  02:57 - Anne (Host) And that's direct, because it's direct contact with a potential client.  03:01 - Tom (Guest) Exactly. And then there is indirect marketing, which is where you're kind of like doing your thing over here in hopes that people or robots will notice you Right and come to you Right. So, for example, working on search engine optimization on your website, that's a form of indirect marketing or passive marketing, because if somebody's searching for you, hopefully your website or your content will rank higher on Google, bing, yahoo and they'll be like, hey, who's this person? And then they reach out to you Right.  03:30 - Anne (Host) Or they're seeing you on social media.  03:32 - Tom (Guest) Social media, exactly, is another perfect example of indirect marketing. So that's where you're kind of like demonstrating your value, your progress, your humanity as a voice actor and a person, in hopes that it will get voice seekers' attention and be engaged with your content and hopefully you'll stay top of mind for future projects.  03:50 - Anne (Host) An easy I would say an easy way of thinking about it is direct marketing. You go to them In direct marketing. They're coming to you.  03:58 - Tom (Guest) Exactly. Yeah, that's exactly right.  04:00 - Anne (Host) I think, equally terrifying for voice actors yes, yes, I think that it's great that we made the distinction now between the two.  04:09 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) And.  04:09 - Anne (Host) I think the one that really causes people probably the most terror is the direct marketing part of it, because they have to reach out to someone who is a complete stranger to them and that we are a complete stranger to them and they're a complete stranger to us. And so direct marketing, I think, requires, I think, a little more knowledge, so it makes it a little less scary.  04:29 - Tom (Guest) I think so too.  04:36 - Anne (Host) That's the way I see it, and what I try to explain to a lot of my students who talk about marketing and their fear of marketing is, of course, all the indirect methods, which they're probably much more apt to do, because they can create a blog, they can go on social media, they can create a video, they can do things like that, and that to them, I think, is more of a concrete path than oh my God, I got to go find someone. Who do I reach out to, what do I say and how does that work? And so I think the first distinction that I want to make with direct marketing is to make it less terrifying. Is that I want to make with direct marketing is to make it less terrifying is just an understanding that people have needs. How many times can I bring up the Chanel lipstick, right?  05:09 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) How many times it's a great example.  05:10 - Anne (Host) I just keep going back to it where here's the Chanel lipstick. It is part of my brand and I want to work with this company, chanel, and so ultimately, they don't know who I am. I mean, I kind of know who they are, but I don't know exactly who I should contact. And so when does Chanel have a need for voiceover? Right, when they have a campaign, right when they have a campaign and when maybe they have a voiceover and they want to replace that voice, and so it's very much based on need and when they need voiceover, a voiceover.  05:41 It's not that. Oh, I'm going to reach out and I never heard back and therefore that's a bad lead or it didn't work or I'm done. I failed. You cannot think that, guys, because it's all on a timely basis, so when I need a new lipstick, I'm not constantly searching for a new lipstick, but when I need one, then if an email comes my way or a social media ad comes my way talking about a new shade of red, I'll be like, oh, I need that, let me look into it.  06:10 And that's the same thing that, as a voice actor, you need to understand about direct marketing.  06:14 - Tom (Guest) Right, put it another way. And what are the client's pain points? How can you cure what ails them? How can you solve their problems? So I'm going to take your Chanel lipstick example and I'm going to continue it. So let's put it in voiceover terms Chanel wants to advertise that lipstick. So they want to make advertisements of some sort. It could be print, it could be digital, it could be TV, radio streaming or whatever. Right, chanel?  06:42 - Anne (Host) Look to me, Chanel. I talk about you all the time. I'm just saying In my podcast Please make Anne a compensated endorser for your lovely products.  06:51 - Tom (Guest) So Chanel usually would have to hire a marketing agency or an ad firm or something like that to come up with whatever. The concept would be. Okay, well, this is Chanel, it's this type of lipstick, we're targeting this type of audience, or they?  07:04 have it in-house or they have it in-house and they'll say, okay, well, our demographic is women of this particular age range.  07:19 Okay, so we need to make sure that the content and context of the advertisement is making sure that we're targeting that particular demographic.  07:22 It needs to appeal to them on a visual or an auditory level or some other combination of that. Maybe we need to get an influencer in here or a celebrity or something like that, but we still need a voice actor to do whatever the radio or streaming or TV is. So they come up with a concept, they write the script. Now they need to get a production company to turn this script into reality and then the production company now this is where they have choices. They can go to a casting director and a casting director and the casting director can then reach out to agents and managers to find the voice actors. They can post that casting notice on a casting site like a Voice 123 or a VO Planet or a Badalgo, or they can have their own roster of voice actors that every time a casting notice comes up, they go through their own list of voice actors. That every time a casting notice comes up, they go through their own list of voice actors and then send the casting notices out to the appropriate voice actors to collect auditions right.  08:12 - Anne (Host) Before you continue, I'm going to intercept and say all right, let's talk about how often do they need this right? That is something that is the big unknown right. How often are they needing a new campaign? And that is something that I think is the most ambiguous, maybe, to the voice actor, because we don't know we don't work for the company, we don't know how often they need these new ads. So what I don't want people to expect, and I think what a lot of people do expect, is like well, I reached out to them and they don't want me. Well, they don't have a need for you Yet. Yeah, and I don't think it's appropriate to think that any one company needs a voice actor 24-7.  08:48 - Tom (Guest) Unless you're Joseph Riano.  08:50 - Anne (Host) But that's a different genre, right. That's promo, that's a different genre, that's promo and that's actually a network right.  08:55 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Right.  08:55 - Anne (Host) That, yeah, you're required to do these ads because things change all the time. Chanel lipstick how often are they coming up with new colors? How often are they coming up with new colors? There's seasons, right? How often are they coming up with new lipsticks? Right? That is not necessarily a daily. Companies don't come out with new products every single day, so therefore they may not have a need. So please keep that in mind, guys, because I think a lot of people get discouraged when they don't hear back. Marketing is the long haul. It's a marathon, not a sprint.  09:21 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, getting auditions from your agents and managers and getting auditions from online casting sites. Those are short term. There's an audition right now. You audition for it right now Because they've had a need Right. Using direct and indirect marketing strategies is a long-term investment in developing relationships with clients Big distinction. A lot of people argue oh, agents are better than this and this is better than that, and none of that is true.  09:46 All of it's extremely subjective, based on the genres of voiceover that you want to do and the marketing methods and comfort level that you have with technology and interpersonal stuff. Like some people will be like I'll make cold calls all day. I love doing it. And some people are like I'm terrified of talking to people. I will only post stuff on social media and I will only talk about in a very narrow way and all of that is fine. But to Anne's point. Well, first off, we're thinking about them a lot more than they're thinking about us.  10:13 - Anne (Host) Oh my God, yes, amen, amen. That is so very true, because we want to be hired by them.  10:19 - Tom (Guest) Right, of course, and to Anne's point, they don't need any voiceover for a product or service or brand at this moment in time, and when they do, it may not necessarily be you and a lot of the times they don't have any control over the product or service or brand and what the demands there are from the end client or the ad agency or the marketing firm or the campaign that dictates the quality and quantity of the demographics of the voice actors that they're needed for that particular campaign. Right, and with a campaign that dictates the quality and quantity of the demographics of the voice actors that they're needed for that particular campaign.  10:48 - Anne (Host) Right, and with a campaign, typically they want to have, like in any kind of a brand, consistency right. Typically, if there's a product and you're the voice of that product or that brand, it typically is something that will be recurring for a certain amount of time. It's not like today's ad is going to feature my voice and tomorrow it's going to feature somebody else's voice. They want to work in a little bit of consistency for that brand and that includes the voice. So understand that they're not having a need for a new voice actor every single time they're airing the ad or putting it out there on social media. That may be.  11:19 You are a voice for a campaign which runs for a certain length of time, which is why we base our rates especially when it's broadcast right on where it's being played and for how long Because we are a voice for that particular time, for that particular campaign. Now, if they want to extend that right, they will pay to extend that or they'll find a new voice if they're looking for that.  11:42 - Tom (Guest) Right, we love the rebuys where you narrate something and it's good for a certain period. I got that phone call two weeks ago. I did a social media ad and for a six month term, and they literally called me on the phone. They're like, hey, they want to do it again, bill us, yeah, and I just build them. And they're like, oh, and we have two more spots. That's the wonderful part.  11:59 - Anne (Host) But the thing is is like for that particular brand, right Voice actors. If you're going to reach out to that same company and say, hey, I'm a voice actor, hire me. Well, they've got Tom right For reasons within the campaign. If his voice is working and that's what they want, they're going to continue to have Tom. So don't take it personally, don't beat Tom up.  12:19 - Tom (Guest) Tom is like sorry not sorry, Sorry, not sorry Sorry not sorry, sorry, not sorry.  12:22 - Anne (Host) I think we just have sometimes a very narrow view of what it's like on the other side of the glass and to have that need and that desire to create a campaign with a voice, and so you have to be understanding of the way it works.  12:34 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, another point on that is that late last year a voice actor posted on Facebook an infographic that I want to say it was. An explainer video producer posted an infographic. They tracked the amount of hours that it takes to produce an explainer video, which obviously includes concept writing, storyboard, budget, legal department, music and all of that stuff, and the amount, the percentage that involved the voice actor, was 1.5%. Yeah, 1.5%. So often we as voice actors are an afterthought.  13:06 - Anne (Host) Yeah, we're the last part of the journey there.  13:08 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, and sometimes I'll just ask around the office, or their niece, who's a musical theater major, and they just give it to them and that's it.  13:15 - Anne (Host) But yes, obviously casting notices are posted everywhere all the time and it's so funny because I mean, when I'm doing oh, it's funny because I'm dabbling a little bit in fashion and when I'm creating videos, I mean my main thing is that I'm talking about the brand or I'm showcasing the brand, but a lot of times the videos don't even require the voice. Unless I'm directly talking about the brand, I can put music behind it. And it's funny because in my process of creating the video right for, let say, the brands that I'm working for the last thing I put in is the voice. It's the last thing I do, unless I'm doing a direct-to-camera like hey guys, this is an amazing product. Then it all happens together, right, and then the video editing happens and my voice is already there talking about it.  13:57 But a lot of times I'm not necessarily, or I'm doing a voiceover after the fact, and so, yeah, we become like the last part of the project, and so that's something to also be aware of. It's not that we're not important, we're very important, but you have to understand where in the chain of events that it happens. That's why people, when they cast, they want to cast typically like quickly, right, they want to find that voice and just put it into the video that's already been done, and then music and sound effects, because, again, like Tom you mentioned, we're typically the last part.  14:31 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, and from what I've noticed in my casting notices over the past decade or so is that the turnaround time for casting is usually about 48 hours, and then from the recording of it is probably another 48 hours. Sometimes it's even quicker than that. So usually that means if this project took six weeks or two months or whatever that means at most not. I'm not saying a week is spent on the voiceover, it's just that everything that needs to happen regarding the voiceover is probably a handful of hours within one week, and then that's it.  15:04 So the point is, bosses, is that if you are engaging in direct marketing strategies, like cold calls or emails, and you're doing your follow-up emails and reaching out on social media, like directly in sending the messages and stuff like that you have to manage your expectations. I was reading a study that since 2014, the return on cold calls and emails has dropped by 10% every year for the past 10 years. And guess what? 10% times 10 years equals 100%. So it doesn't mean they're not effective at all anymore. But now the expectation of them actually getting your email or answering your phone call and responding positively is between 1% and 3%. It is a very, very small percentage, which means also this is a numbers game.  15:49 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely Absolutely, but it's not impossible.  15:52 - Tom (Guest) No, it's not impossible. You want to be smart about it.  15:55 - Anne (Host) Yeah, what I'm always telling people because I have a Boss Blast product and I know you also do a lot of educational courses on direct marketing. It's something that you need to understand. It's definitely a marathon, not a sprint, kind of a game, and the good thing about it is that once you do connect and once you're in front of the eyes of someone who has the power to hire you and award you the gig, typically you want to stay top of mind, and that's when you're talking about marketing. Staying top of mind is always a good thing. You're talking about marketing. Staying top of mind is always a good thing. That's when they'll call you and say, hey, we want to extend this for another 13 weeks or we want to extend this again. So once you hook them, hopefully you keep them, and that's where the challenge is.  16:36 You know auditions. You know there's a need already. You audition and they cast because they're at that stage in the project where that's what they need. Right, they need that voice. But when you're direct marketing and you're reaching out, they may not have that need right away. They might think about you and say, oh okay, I like that voice. I don't have a need for her right now, but maybe let me put her to the side and let's when another campaign comes up that I think she's good for and I get that all the time when I'm on a few different rosters They'll contact me directly and say, hey look, I think you'd be a perfect voice for this campaign. Can you send me an audition? And typically, boom, that's good because it's a cold lead that turned into a warm lead and that is nice because I didn't have to really do much effort because I'm on his radar.  17:18 So when you're direct marketing, tom, the other important thing to understand is not only how it works right and understand and the expectations. It is how do you know who to contact right? And how do you contact them without being spammed? Because, guess what? We all get spam every single day. I get phone calls still that I don't pick up the phone. I get emails that are scammers, that are just junk email I don't even bother to look at. I see the subject line and I'm like nope, so I'm not going to be spamming. In today's world where it is getting increasingly hard. How do you do it right? That's the question, that's the golden question, right? How do you do it? How do you get their attention?  17:55 - Tom (Guest) Well, I've learned a couple of just some just brief bullet pointy bits of advice is be concise, be brief, be professional, but be you as much as you can If you have a very formal subject line or a very prim and proper paragraph. Hi, my name is this, I do this, I do that, I can do this, and every sentence starts with the word I Delete Immediate turn off.  18:21 - Anne (Host) It's about how you can help the company.  18:23 - Tom (Guest) Yes, it's how you can bring value to their company. It's not about you Solve their pain point. Exactly, solve the pain point. What can you do for them? But don't make it I, I, I Make it about. You need this, you need this. Your problem is this your problem can be solved with my services as a voice actor, but at the same time, be you as much as you can be you, be as personable as you can. Funny goes a long way and showing that you know about them.  18:54 - Anne (Host) Yes, because it becomes like these are two strangers meeting in the night, right? So what makes that meeting more agreeable? Well, if I have done my homework, it's kind of like God the olden days, tom, when I used to go on interviews for like corporate jobs. Right, you wouldn't go into a corporate interview for a job and not know anything about the company that you're applying to.  19:15 Right, I mean that was the biggest no-no was no. You've got to understand what does the company make, what are the products that it makes and what is it that is attracting you to this company? So if you can offer some insight into their company and why it is that you feel it would be a beneficial partnership, then definitely reaching out with how you can solve their pain point and showing that you're interested in them and not just like I, I, I and I'm a great voice actor and listen to my talent. It's not about you at all. It's about how you can help them right to sell their product or to sell their brand.  19:48 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, your job is a problem solver. Yeah, don't treat them like a cash register and your email is a crowbar.  19:54 - Anne (Host) Oh, I like that, that visual.  19:57 - Tom (Guest) You know he's kind of like give me the money to say the things have you said that before?  20:00 - Anne (Host) Did you just grab that from there? That was great.  20:02 - Tom (Guest) I've said it in various permutations of that over the years. But yeah, yeah, I've also said we try to treat voice seekers like ATMs. Yeah, because we only see them as these machines that can give us money. Yeah, absolutely. These are people that have their own needs and challenges.  20:17 They are human beings that have their own struggles creative, logistical, financial, cultural struggles. And if voiceover is 1.5% of their thought processes in any given project, 5% of their thought processes in any given project, you want that 1.5% to be maybe the easiest and most entertaining, 1.5% to make everything a little bit easier.  20:38 - Anne (Host) Don't give them homework. That's what I always say. Don't give them homework, Don't make them try to research you. Don't give them homework. Just be there to let them know that you can help them and that you have a genuine interest in their company, in their product, in wanting to serve them and to help them, to make their jobs easier. Really, I think that's the point, and anybody that's worked in the corporate world knows that they want their job to be easier. They're working for someone, typically, and they have a lot on their plate. They don't want to be bogged down by, oh my God, a big, lengthy email that is going on and on and on and self-serving.  21:14 I know that when I get emails and I like to talk a lot. I think that's the problem, Tom. As voice actors, we like to talk right, and sometimes that transcribes right into our emails. I used to write these emails that were like paragraphs, paragraphs. Nobody has time for that and I would love to write paragraphs of an email and I would spend so much time.  21:32 I remember when I broke down what I did in my corporate job. I spent the majority of my time writing customer service emails and they were long emails and the funny thing is, I would get offended if people three quarters of the way down, if I put an important fact and then somebody wrote me back and then asked me a question about that fact, I'd be like how could you not have read that email? I spent so much time on it Because people don't have the capacity right to read a big, long, horribly boring email and also you are encroaching upon their time. I get so many emails a day, Tom, we've talked about this before. I have like a million some odd unread emails in my Gmail on purpose, because I want to see the marketing. I want to see the marketing that people are doing, and you just have to understand that you're taking up a part of their day, and so I think you need to like, deserve that.  22:18 And you need to prove that you're worthy of that 1.5% of their time. And so that means, if they don't want to hear from you again, if you've presented yourself in a way where they don't have a need for you, or maybe you I don't know, maybe you're all self-serving and they're like I don't need this they need to have a way to not get those emails from you ever, ever again. So there are legal ramifications of you reaching out to somebody unsolicited, typically in any direct marketing. That is the next thing that I want to bring up.  22:46 Tom, in any direct marketing you have to have permission to send an email. And if you don't necessarily have direct permission, you have to offer them a way to opt out of the emails that you send to them. And that includes, when you send that cold email, something at the bottom that says if you would like to unsubscribe to these emails, give them a way to opt out of that. And you also must provide and this is just good business measure you have to provide legally an address of your company on your emails. So when you send those emails out, you have to give them a way to opt out of the emails and you have to give them your business address.  23:23 - Tom (Guest) Absolutely, because you don't want the internet to give you the ban. Hammer if you're sending out hundreds or thousands of these emails at the same time. Manhammer if you're sending out hundreds or thousands of these emails at the same time. So I've heard recently that the era of spray and pray is over, but it's not just for all the marketing value pain points provide value stuff, but it's also because of the internet, as we as a people has just had it with all of these spammy carbon copy templaty desperate has just had it with all of these spammy carbon copy templaty. Desperate, aggressive, obnoxious, self-aggrandizing emails that we're getting over and over again, because we can't tell what's real and what's fake anymore when the phone rings or when an email comes in or when we see a social media post. So people are cracking down and being like we have no tolerance for this. I would rather send less emails that have more value than more emails that have more value than more emails that have value, and hope for the occasional hit.  24:13 - Anne (Host) And again, if you are sending out mass emails and that's a whole nother thing with direct marketing, not many people have the provision to send out thousands of emails at one time because most, unless you're paying for that service, which I do for the boss blast I pay for that service. I am able to send out lots of emails at a time. It's done through a server which doesn't do it all at once. And also the people that I'm sending it to have already opted in to me, marketing to them, and still, at the very least, I have to put. Here's a way to opt out and here's my business address and they only allow from my domain, the, and they only allow from my domain, the VO Boss domain. So anybody that buys a Boss Blast, you are actually getting a list that has already opted in to be marketed to and they have all the legal rights to opt out if they want.  24:58 Most people don't, because they've opted in for a reason, but it's something that I would say most voice actors can't afford because you typically pay by the contact. So my server, which is ActiveCampaign, I pay by the contact, so contact. So my server, which is ActiveCampaign, I pay by the contact. So I have a few hundred thousand contacts that I pay for in order to be able to send emails out to that, and that's not something necessarily that every voice actor has the budget to do, which is why I offered the Boss Blast.  25:22 And this isn't all just about the Boss Blast, but it's anytime you're talking about doing direct mail, quality over quantity unless you have the provision to send out quantity, which is something that I pay thousands of dollars for, and I also make sure I got all the legal ramifications for people to opt out if they need to. But you need to do the same thing on a smaller scale, and direct marketing, I feel, is one of the methods of marketing that needs to be implemented so that in combination with indirect marketing. And you've got to do it. Gosh Tom, how much percentage of your time would you say? I would say 80%, if not a little bit more when things are lean.  25:58 - Tom (Guest) Yeah, when things are slow I immediately go to market, absolutely. But when things are busy, I have learned also to keep doing my marketing. So there, aren't as many slow periods.  26:09 So, yes, direct marketing can and should be part of a balanced breakfast. That is, every voice actor. If you can get quality representation audition through your agents and managers, if you understand how to feed the algorithms of online casting sites, use them to keep the flow of auditions coming in. Direct marketing with thoughtful, value-driven emails. Indirect marketing with thoughtful, value-driven emails. Indirect marketing with thoughtful value-driven blog posts, blog entries and social media posts. You should be doing, ideally, some combination of all of these as often as you can to maximize your opportunities to get the voiceover auditions that you desire.  26:47 - Anne (Host) And always be cultivating your next client, even if you're super busy. I think that's the most important thing that I've learned over the many years that I've been in the business here is always be cultivating your next client, because your clients, even if you've had them for years and years and years, they're never guaranteed. And the best in the business will say the same. So good conversation, Tom. I think we could talk about marketing in 500 more episodes.  27:10 But I think this is a great start guys to understand that it is a necessary evil and it's not scary. It's really not scary. You need to embrace the challenge that is marketing and, again, I like to look at everything as a challenge. That's what gives me joy in my business and also one of the reasons why I did create the VL Boss Blast was because I didn't have a ton of time to do the indirect marketing, although I do that a lot too. So everybody needs a balanced breakfast of both indirect and direct marketing. And, tom, thank you again for always being such a golden nugget of wisdom in my podcast.  27:42 - Tom (Guest) Thank you, I love it.  27:44 - Anne (Host) I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. Yes, you too can be a boss, a real boss and find out more at IPDTLcom. You guys have an amazing week and we'll see you next time. Bye.  27:59 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.   

Adam's Paternity Leave continues, so why not cross the finish line of the three-part bonanza that put Captain Don Cragen in more existential peril more than any Captain should be. Patreon payments are frozen for the time being. A few resourceful new Munchies have figured out a work-around where you can join as a free member and upgrade from there to a paid account which charges you for one month and unlocks the back catalog behind the respective tier of the paywall. After that first payment, you won't be charged again until we're dropping new content (which we'll warn everyone is coming), so if you want more of this it can be had, along with access to the fully uncut episodes from 100 to present and Movie Club episodes.In Part 2 of our deconstruction of the epic two-parter, "Lost Reputation/Above Suspicion" (S14E01), Josh and Adam get deep into the nitty gritty of the pressing questions that energize Munchheads the world over: Which French noir director had a better grasp of mise en scene, Jean-Pierre Melville or Henri-Georges Clouzot? Is consensual knife play more GGG than paying escorts to talk to pathetic old men? Is Dean Winters actually, after all these years, a good actor? Find out the answers to these important questions plus a breakdown of the massive amount of plot in this mega episode of Law & Order: SVU.Music:Divorcio Suave - "Munchy Business"Thanks to our gracious Munchies on Patreon: Jeremy S, Jaclyn O, Amy Z, Diana R, Tony B, Barry W, Drew D, Nicky R, Stuart, Jacqi B, Natalie T, Robyn S, Amy A, Sean M, Jay S, Briley O, Asteria K, Suzanne B, Tim Y, John P, John W, Elia S, Rebecca B, Lily, Sarah L, Melsa A, Alyssa C, Johnathon M, Tiffany C, Brian B, Kate K, Whitney C, Alex, Jannicke HS, Roni C, Nourhane B, Erin M, Florina C, Melissa H, and Olivia - y'all are the best!Be a Munchie, too! Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/munchmybensonBe sure to check out our other podcast diving into long unseen films of our guests' youth: Unkind Rewind at our website or on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcastsFollow us on: BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and Reddit (Adam's Twitter/BlueSky and Josh's BlueSky/Letterboxd/Substack)Join our Discord: Munch Casts ServerCheck out Munch Merch: Munch Merch at ZazzleCheck out our guest appearances:Both of us on: FMWL Pod (1st Time & 2nd Time), Storytellers from Ratchet Book Club, Chick-Lit at the Movies talking about The Thin Man, and last but not least on the seminal L&O podcast …These Are Their Stories (Adam and Josh).Josh discussing Jackie Brown with the fine folks at Movie Night Extravaganza, debating the Greatest Detectives in TV History on The Great Pop Culture Debate Podcast, and talking SVU/OC and Psych (five eps in all) on Jacked Up Review Show.Visit Our Website: Munch My BensonEmail the podcast: munchmybenson@gmail.comThe Next New Episode Once We're Back from Adam's Paternity Leave Will Be: Season 16, Episode 14 "Intimidation Game"Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/munch-my-benson-a-law-order-svu-podcast--5685940/support.

Click Here to Get All Podcast Show Notes!Have you ever wondered why so many bosses fail to inspire their teams? In this episode, Sharran dives into the controversial topic that no one wants to discuss—why most bosses suck. He argues that many leaders, who love their titles and control, often lack the necessary skills to be effective bosses, which can damage team dynamics and productivity. Sharran also explains what good leadership is all about and how you can become the kind of boss people actually want to work for.If you're a leader, he offers actionable insights to help you improve, and if you're working under a boss who isn't quite up to par, you'll find helpful advice on how to navigate that environment.If you're a boss or part of a team, listen to this episode and learn how to break away from the toxic “boss” mindset and become a true leader.“Respect doesn't come from your position in the org chart; it comes from watching someone lead by example.”- Sharran SrivatsaaTimestamps:01:34 - Leaders who love the title "boss"03:54 - Hypocrisy in leadership: “Unemployable” entrepreneurs04:45 - Great leaders manage the work, not the people05:54 - The harmful impact of org charts07:40 - The danger of credit-hungry bosses09:10 - Titles don't matter: focus on value, not status10:49 - How great leaders learn from experience11:38 - Leaders who don't respond but expect responsiveness12:30 - Leadership is a reverse triangle14:20 - Leadership is about loving the work, not the title15:52 - Two reasons why Sharran would choose to work for someone elseResources:- The Next Billion by Sharran Srivatsaa - https://sharransrivatsaa.substack.com/- Acquisition.com - https://www.acquisition.com/- Join the Future Proof Community - https://futureproofsecrets.com/- The Real Brokerage - https://www.joinreal.com/- Top Agent Power Pack - https://sharran.activehosted.com/f/121- The 5am Club - https://sharran.com/5amclub/- Join the 10K Wisdom Private Partner Podcast, now available to you for free - https://www.highlandprime.com/optin-10k-wisdom- Join Sharran's VIP Community -

Today's Headlines: Trump turned what should've been a straightforward Kennedy Center honoree reveal — shoutout to Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, KISS, and Michael Crawford — into another marathon rant. He floated extending National Guard deployments in DC, promised to clear homeless encampments without saying where people will go, and unveiled a pricey 600-troop “Domestic Civil Disturbance Quick Reaction Force” for nationwide protest crackdowns. Down in Texas, Republicans rammed through a gerrymandered congressional map after Trump demanded a special session, while Democrats are still hiding out of state. On the foreign front, Trump is gearing up for his Putin meet-and-greet at an Anchorage military base, warning of “severe consequences” if there's no Ukraine ceasefire. Norway is blaming Russian hackers for sabotaging a dam in April. Trump also nominated former Fox News face Tammy Bruce as deputy ambassador to the UN — even though both the deputy and main gig are currently empty. Oh, and Mexico just extradited 26 alleged cartel bosses after Trump's tariff threats, with the DOJ promising no death penalties. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: AP News: Trump names Stallone and Kiss for Kennedy Center Honors and says he'll host the awards show NBC News: Trump says he will seek 'long-term extension' of Washington police takeover Axios: "Unheard of and ominous": Trump's D.C. homelessness crackdown perplexes advocates WaPo: Pentagon plan would create National Guard ‘reaction force' for civil unrest Texas Tribune: Texas Senate approves new congressional lines as House Democrats remain out of state WSJ: Trump Agrees on Ukraine Red Lines With Europe Before Putin Summit AP News: Norwegian police say pro-Russian hackers were likely behind suspected sabotage at a dam CBS News: Trump nominates Tammy Bruce as deputy representative to the U.N. Axios: Mexico extradites 26 suspected top cartel leaders to U.S.  Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former submarine commander David Marquet joins EconTalk's Russ Roberts to explore how distancing--thinking like someone else, somewhere else, or sometime else--can unlock better choices in business and life. They talk about leadership without giving orders, how to empower teams, and what it means to see yourself as a coach rather than a boss. Along the way, they discuss Jeff Bezos's leap to start Amazon, Steve Jobs' unique vision, and how a simple mindset shift can transform a struggling crew--or your career. A conversation about thinking clearly under pressure, avoiding regret, and becoming the kind of leader who creates other leaders instead of followers.