S4 E3 | Danielle Famble
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Stephanie talks to Danielle Famble, a musical theatre and TV actor turned voice actor who works in commercials, politicals, eLearning, and more. Danielle's career took off in 2020 and she has grown her 6 figure business ever since.
Links:
Danielle's Website: https://daniellefamble.com/
Danielle's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dfamble
Danielle's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellefamble
Danielle's Email: danielle@daniellefamble.com
Artillery Media: https://artillerymedia.com/
The Branding Babe: https://www.thebrandingbabe.com/
TriBooth: https://tribooth.com/
Making It To The Mic Website: www.makingittothemic.com
Instagram: @stephaniepamrobertsvo
Email: stephanie@stephaniepamroberts.com
Full transcript:
Stephanie Roberts 0:08
Hello and welcome to Making it to the Mic. A podcast about how different voice actors got to where they are today. I'm your host, Stephanie, Pam Roberts, and my guest today is Danielle Famble. Danielle is a versatile voice actor who is talented and focused on running her voice over business like the small business it is. So let's get into it. Here's my conversation with Danielle famble.
Stephanie Roberts 0:35
Hi, Danielle, how are you today?
Danielle Famble 0:37
Hey, I'm good. How are you I'm good.
Stephanie Roberts 0:39
Thank you so much for joining me on this episode.
Danielle Famble 0:42
Yeah, thanks for having me on.
Stephanie Roberts 0:43
So I'd love to start by asking you to tell us about your journey. How did you make it to the mic, and what did you do before voice over?
Danielle Famble 0:50
Well, I come to voice over by way of a career in musical theater. I went to school for classical music, and I minored in theater. And I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a performer, that I wanted to be an actor. I'm a middle child, so getting attention was kind of always wanted and and I grew up singing in choirs and and performing in school, musicals, things like that.
Danielle Famble 1:19
So I knew pretty early on that I wanted to be a performer, and for me, I thought it was Broadway or bust. So after high school, I wanted to go to school for musical theater. And my parents said, Well, that's great, but you need to stay closer to home for college. So I did, and the college I went to didn't have a musical theater program, so since I had experience in choirs, I wanted to get my degree in classical music and minored in theater.
Danielle Famble 1:49
And as soon as I graduated college, I moved to New York City so that I could go for that that dream of Broadway or bust. And so i i started auditioning and taking classes, and I booked job performing jobs at theme parks and at regional theaters across the country, and I was a singer on cruise ships for a couple of years, traveling all over the world.
Danielle Famble 2:11
Eventually, it just kind of didn't make a lot of sense for me to to continue doing theater, because I was away from my home, away from my bed. I I was traveling all the time, and what I wanted to do was I wanted to stay close to home, but still be a performer. So one of my agents or manager at the time said, Well, I think you should maybe consider on camera work or even voiceover. I'm getting some auditions for, like, singing jingles, like voiceover and you're a singer, so why not? So I started taking some voice over classes in New York City, and I enjoyed it. I really, really loved it. And I put together a little closet booth where I was auditioning for whatever projects. And then if I booked it. I would go into a studio in New York, and that was in 2019 and I thought, I think this is what I want to be doing. I'm going to really pursue it. And then 2020 hit, and it was really kind of a combination of, I had essentially a home studio, not like a studio that I have now, but I had a way to record, and Black Lives Matter was a big deal at the time. And so there are a lot of auditions for, you know, sounds like Viola Davis, or sounds like, you know, what have you. You know, we all remember those and and I had this acting and performing background, so I really had everything that I needed, and the time to audition during the day and have sessions during the day, and so that's really when my career took off, and I became full time about a year after that, and that's really what I'm doing today.
Stephanie Roberts 3:54
That's amazing. It's funny, we have similar journeys, from being a performer at a young age - musical theater, going to college, Broadway, being the big dream, and then shifting that perspective as time went on, and I felt the same way, and as a musical theater performer, I just didn't want to keep going places. I was tired, I was in a serious relationship, and I just didn't really want to keep removing myself from the city. So yeah, I kind of fell into voice over and at the same point in my, like, personal life as well. So that's that's really interesting to hear that somebody else kind of had that same experience.
Danielle Famble 4:30
Yeah, it's interesting because I got randomly, I got an audition yesterday for a musical theater job, for a tour. And I mean, I hadn't, I haven't opened up Actors Access for like theater jobs in years, years. And I went and I looked at the audition, and I looked at the specs, and I looked at the casting, and I couldn't, nothing in my life supports me being able to do that. The rate was not enough that I would be able to leave my life here, just being away from my loved ones, I'm in a serious relationship like it just doesn't support that anymore. And as much as I loved what I did, and I love performing and I love singing, that part of my life, it has, has closed down, and I'm okay with it. I I never would have thought. I mean, if you asked, you know, 21 year old me, it's Broadway or bust, I will, I want, I must. I must, or or else, I'm not a real actor, right? I if you would have told 21 year old me that now I am the working actor that she moved to New York City to become, and not on on someone's stage, I would have been floored completely!
Stephanie Roberts 5:50
Yeah. But what a great reframe for, I think other musical theater people out there, or theater people that are sort of like, oh, I have to do this one thing. Like when I moved to the city, I took no classes in anything else. Even though voiceover was always something I'd been interested in, it was like, no, I have to spend that money on my dance or my voice lessons or acting classes or whatever. And what a great thing to now be able to say like, I am a working actor, okay, not in the genre I thought I was gonna be in, but you are a working actor. You're making a living as a full time voice actor.
Danielle Famble 6:22
Yeah, and it's so much better. Yes, I ever would have thought like, that's the part. It's so much better.
Stephanie Roberts 6:31
It's interesting to hear that you started, you know, kind of pre pandemic, but the pandemic really kind of pushed you into this path, you know, really solidified it for you. So what year did you hit six figures for the first time?
Danielle Famble 6:45
I hit six figures... This is so weird, but let me triple check this, but I am almost certain that I hit six figures that first year, as in 2020. I remember doing my taxes with the person who used to always do my taxes. And she was like, whoa, wow, great job. And I was terrified, actually, because it was real.
Stephanie Roberts 7:07
Before the pandemic. I feel like it took a while for that to happen. And that's so cool that right out of the gate, you were like, I'm doing voice over. Okay, cool. I hit the six figures!
Danielle Famble 7:17
It was a lot of again, it was like the preparation and having everything that I needed. I remember being in lockdown, and we were in Voice Actors of NYC. Carin had put together a, like, a get your house in order, kind of of webinar. And she was like, if you don't have Source Connect, get it now, go, go, go. And I took that to heart, and literally, the next day I figured out Source Connect, and it from from there on, I mean, it was it, I can just almost see the trajectory, just up and up and up and up and up with, like, productivity and bookings and just what I was doing.
Danielle Famble 8:03
So it wasn't just like that moment, but I feel like that moment was the spark of I have this background, I have this acting ability, I have I have the musicality, which I feel like there's a lot of musicality and voice over, the cadence and the tone and the all of it. It just, it lends itself to music. To me, it just was, that was sort of the catalyst year.
Stephanie Roberts 8:31
Yeah, and you know what I'm thinking now too, as you're talking about that, how just everybody had time that we hadn't had before, whether that was because other survival jobs were not available in person because of the pandemic, or, like in those very early lockdown days, or if it was because, you know, somebody was doing musical theater and voiceover but then musical theater was no longer or because, like for me, I was only doing voice over, But I have, I mean, at the time, she was two and a half, like a young child, and my husband was working in the theater, and then was suddenly out of work, and so all of a sudden, I had time that I didn't have before, because he was home. So I had built in childcare. I didn't have to go traveling anywhere. None of us were taking an extra 40 plus minutes a day to go into the city for auditions. So I imagine that that really opened up a chance for people to kind of dig in to their businesses in a way that they hadn't been able to do before.
Danielle Famble 9:32
Oh, absolutely, the time. I think was, for me, my biggest asset, because I was, you know, working actor, sort of, I was doing the things that you think that, you know, working actors would be doing, which is, I had multiple survival jobs. I had a day job, working at the Apple store, and I was waiting tables at night, and then I was auditioning when I could around the jobs. It was nothing for me to work, like seven days a week for two or three weeks straight and then maybe have a day off. And I just didn't have the time to really put any energy, effort creativity into acting, be it for on camera or voice over, which I was really getting into at that time. So really like having the time to just be in one place and have a home studio. I was off to the races at that point.
Stephanie Roberts 10:29
How do we harness that now, now that we're all like, back to doing a million things, or having more commitments, or just like, you know, real life, being back to real life, how do you find time to really keep that, you know, that momentum going.
Danielle Famble 10:42
I think that's, that's the major challenge. I mean, now voice over is my full time job, so this is what I do all day, every day, and having a home studio, I can just walk straight in and spend however much time I need to on sessions or auditions or classes, even. But the time, I think, is, is the major challenge. I would say that's what you could probably maybe time block and say, Okay, I have time on Tuesday from two to four. This is the time that I'm using, and you put it in your calendar, in your schedule, just like you would your work schedule. That I think the time part is really the the hardest, especially if you have multiple things that you're working on and doing and responsibilities, but if you can time block it in such a way and say, like, this is the time that I am dedicating to voice over, and not even just voiceover generally, auditions or learning how to use my DAW or what have you. I think that's when you'll find that you're, you'll get a lot more productive productivity done.
Stephanie Roberts 11:55
And I'm, I'm wondering too, like that first year, did you end up having one or two big jobs that put you over the edge, or did you sort of work steadily with, you know, smaller jobs that kind of equaled out to that six figure salary.
Danielle Famble 12:11
I worked pretty steadily, but a lot of the work that I was doing was commercials, and so with commercials, you can get, you know, a bigger check, because if it happens to be a union job, which most of the jobs that I was doing at that time were not, either it's a large buyout or you're getting some residuals if it is a union job. But for the most part, I did mostly commercials in that first year, and mostly now I work in commercials as well, and some of it was like large e learning projects, but it being commercials, I think is probably what helped make it get me to that six figure mark pretty quickly.
Stephanie Roberts 12:50
And I know that you work a lot in politicals as well. So how do you think that affects your income? Because I imagine that obviously an election year, there's going to be more volume of work, and then the income on the non election years. Do you feel like that? You have to make up for it, because you're sort of not guaranteed that extra bump.
Danielle Famble 13:08
Yeah. I mean, I think we should think about political election years as like, every two years and not every four years.
Stephanie Roberts 13:16
Oh, that's interesting.
Danielle Famble 13:17
Because the non presidential years still have a lot of political advertising happening. And so really, I mean 2020, was a big year, because it was a presidential election year, but also because, you know, the pandemic and everything that was happening. But also then 2022 and now 2024 I can see the trajectory of the political sort of infusing in that. So I would say really every two years is really kind of that, like undulating influx of political work, and it's really just kind of keeping your skills sharp too, with political because they're commercials, and so a lot of a lot of the same things apply in terms of being conversational or being, you know, very human, but it's different in that they probably want to hear more attack ads or a different kind of style than you usually would, so keeping your skills sharp, but yeah, every two years, I would say that would be the time for politicals.
Stephanie Roberts 14:34
I don't do politicals. I feel like it's just a genre that I feel maybe even a little scared of, because I don't know, I don't know if I could do an ad for something that I didn't or a candidate that didn't stand for beliefs that I stand for. So how do you kind of suss that out for yourself?
Danielle Famble 14:51
Well, I I kind of, I've heard someone say this, and I think this is the best way to describe political is it's a form of activism for me.
Stephanie Roberts 15:01
Oh, I love that.
Danielle Famble 15:02
Yeah, there's so many things that, as a human being, I care deeply about and my values align with. In 2020 I was not out protesting. I was not on the street. I was too scared to be outside with people, and I remember my my boyfriend went to a protest, and I was so nervous that something would happen, but I was using my voice to put my voice to the causes that I believe in, that I would have probably been protesting about had I been physically there. So there's something about knowing what your thing is, what is your what's your activism, and aligning yourself with the politics or the associations or the groups of people who align with that, and using your voice for those things.
Danielle Famble 16:00
For me, I'm a member of Blue Wave voiceover, and we voice for progressive Democrat only candidates, and that aligns with my version of activism. So as long as it ticks those boxes, I'm good, but you do have to be very, very careful when you're reading through the scripts or doing a little bit of research on who this candidate is or who the pack is, just to make sure that you are aligned. But for me, that it's my version of activism.
Stephanie Roberts 16:33
I love that. That's really cool. I've never heard that before, and I feel like that that definitely feels like something that I could feel better about than just like, you know, the sort of like, wild, wild west of political ads.
Danielle Famble 16:47
Yeah, and you have to, at this point, you have to pick a side. This is the side that I've chosen. It is also the side that aligns with my beliefs. And I can honestly say, in an ad, something that aligns with my beliefs, because I also truly do believe that.
Stephanie Roberts 17:06
Right. So you said that at the beginning of your voice over career, you did have some representation. So did that sort of transition right away to those people sending you voice over auditions? Or Then did you add more agents on to your list of reps?
Danielle Famble 17:23
I did. I was freelancing with a few different reps in 2020 and then signed with the reps that I am with currently, basically since then. So I there was a little bit of wild wild west for me in terms of reps, but I eventually found the representation that I currently have, and it worked that they were specifically only sending me voice over opportunities. And for me also, I appreciate the fact that now that I've narrowed in what I'm doing. It's kind of like sussed out any extra opportunities that then the creative or the actor in me is like, Oh yeah, I can do everything. Like, no, you're you are doing this thing. This is what you are doing. And the opportunities that are coming to me are very clearly aligned with that.
Stephanie Roberts 18:19
And do you feel like the reps, I sort of feel like they still have, like, the keys to the kingdom, if you will, like they still have, like, the biggest paying jobs. Do you feel like that has really helped you kind of elevate your career into that six figure mark by having those reps right from the beginning?
Danielle Famble 18:36
I do, but I also think that there is a real opportunity for voice actor, individual voice actors, to find their own opportunities. And those opportunities can get you, you know, potentially to six figures. And by that I mean, like non broadcast. I see some of it through my reps, but some of it is stuff that I get on my own, or that I have found on pay to play websites or things like that, and just cultivating those relationships. But yes, it is. It is great to have access to the big auditions, the big opportunities, especially when it comes to commercial because those things. Yes, I do believe those are still very much coming in from agents and managers and those kinds of relationships.
Stephanie Roberts 19:31
Yeah. And do you do direct marketing, or are you just on pay to plays?
Danielle Famble 19:36
I have not. And you know, this is one of those things where this has been on my vision board for a while. Direct marketing has just not been my thing. I applaud, and I am so amazed by the people who who do it and are consistent with it. It's just never been a thing for me, and I feel like it's something I should do, but I am one pay to plays. I am really putting a lot of time and energy into SEO for my website so that people can find me through like Google searches. I feel like that was a lot of what was happening also in 2020 because the infrastructure changed where the voice buyers were just looking for a voice that sounds like x or y or z, and when I'm looking for something and I don't know where to go, I Google it. So I wanted to reverse engineer what that voice buyer may have been thinking by putting myself and my website and what I do in an advantageous place via SEO, so that they can find me that way.
Stephanie Roberts 20:41
I will say your new website is fantastic. I was looking at it this morning, and just sort of like combing through. I can tell like you've definitely thought about like, your positioning, your brand, and I love that you put in, you know, even a lot of like keywords in there about your style, your sound, who you sound like. I thought that was all like, super helpful. Again, like, as somebody who doesn't know you personally, when I looked at that, I was like, Oh, I totally get who this person is. I totally get what I think I will hear when I listen to her. And so, yeah, congrats. It looks really, really great.
Danielle Famble 21:13
Yeah, thank you. I just I kind of I knew, and I realized at that time that we were likely not going back to in person sessions as much as we have, you know, in the past. And so the only way that someone would know me is to know me by what I tell them and what they see from my website or from video or what have you so I would say to anyone, try to put blinders on and imagine that, no, that someone does not know you. How can you guide them to the core essence of who you are without them needing to be in the room with you? Because likely they aren't going to be.
Stephanie Roberts 21:55
Oh, that's so smart, because you're right, like when you're going into in person auditions, and you're physically seeing somebody face to face, you're shaking their hand, you're commenting, like, oh, I love that skirt, like, whatever. Like, there's just so much more of a personal connection, and we've definitely lost that in a lot of places, but, but you're right, like, I've done no in person auditions, and one or two, maybe a little bit more, live auditions during the pandemic through now, but for the most part, it's just you in your booth and what you're putting out into the world on your website, social media, whatever that is gonna kind of form the picture of who you are to somebody that's trying to find a talent. Yeah, and did you work with someone who kind of helped you really synthesize like the copy and your brand, or was that something that you kind of like soul searched on your own and then put it out there to your web designer?
Danielle Famble 22:49
Oh yeah. I worked with Artillery Media, and they are out in Lincoln, Nebraska, I believe. They are amazing, wonderful web designers. But also they really focus on the the whole brand. They want to know who are you talking to? Who is the end user, who would be coming to your website? Like all of it, there was an entire brief that we did together, and then from there, worked with a copywriter to help bring that vision to life through the words that were being used on on the website. So it was a holistic approach. It took a long time, several months!
Stephanie Roberts 23:27
I imagine it was a large investment.
Danielle Famble 23:29
Yes, it was a large investment, but it was exactly, you know, what I wanted. And then I worked with a branding photographer, videographer, the Branding Babe out in Washington, DC, and did like a whole day of like, shooting photos and videos and and wanted those images infused on the website. And then hired a videographer to come to my home studio in Jersey City to to show like, what it looked like to be physically, you know, in my booth, but like, what it would be like to direct me. So there were several different parts and pieces that were put together in the website, and it was a labor of love, and something that I sort of had in my head of like, what is the grand vision of what I would want to put out there, and just found the people who could help me make it happen.
Stephanie Roberts 24:25
Well I mean, that's so smart, because you really did that like a small business. I mean, if you owned a soap shop, like you made handmade soaps, you would do the same thing. You would hire somebody to be like, Who are you selling these soaps to? What is the soap all about? And I feel like, as voice actors, sometimes, you know, it can be really challenging to wear all these different hats. You have to be an excellent actor. You have to be, you know, a chameleon in different genres. You have to, you know, know how to talk to people, to clients. You have to do accounting tech side of things, recording yourself. There's, like, a lot of different pieces, but I think. That the people who are working in this top range of income are the people who are really good, if not masters, at all of that, plus the business side, you really went about this in a smart way, and have presented yourself as like a small business and but as a person, which is really hard to do.
Danielle Famble 25:20
Yeah, well, thank you, and it's the reason is because I am a business. I am a person. I'm the commodity of the business, but I am running a multi six figure business, and I have to approach it as such, because the mindset of that I had when I was a theater actor, where, like, my agent would just take care of it, and I'll just show up to the audition and they'll make sure that I have everything else that doesn't work here I am Running a fully fleshed out business, and I need help. For example, if you were going to a dentist office in a small town, when you walk in, the dentist is not the person who greets you and has you fill out the forms and also does your cleaning and also schedules your next session or next appointment. Like there are so many different departments, and the dentist is one part of it, but they're probably in charge of a lot of those different departments. And I think about it the same way. I am the voice that you hear. I also do my own editing. I don't outsource to an editor, but I do outsource a lot of things in my business, I have a virtual assistant who helps me with the paperwork and the sort of day to day, helping me with my invoices and following up on unpaid invoices. I have a bookkeeper who does my profit and loss statement every single month and helps me get ready for my taxes. I have a CPA who does my taxes. I have a lot of different help, because I cannot do everything myself and run this business effectively.
Stephanie Roberts 25:20
And nor should you. I feel like we think, Oh, I have to do everything because I'm like a one person, you know, I'm a one man band. But at the same time, you would never do that if you had, quote, like a product based business, you would have hired somebody to help you with all of these different aspects. And I feel like that's a really, really smart way to do it. But I also feel like it's like a chicken and egg situation, like, once you get to a place where you're like, wow, I need extra help, it's likely because you're earning enough money to need the extra help and to pay for it, or you're busy enough to need the extra help and need some extra hands to do those things that you personally could do, but you don't need to do. Like, I can't audition for you, but I can do your invoices, right? Somebody just starting out maybe doesn't need or have the budget for that extra virtual assistant, but at some point, like, the scales tip and you realize, like, Oh, if I'm gonna be making this much money, then I can afford this personal assistant, and that will also help free up my time for more auditions or more, you know, social media content or whatever you want to do with that time. So it's, it's an interesting balance.
Danielle Famble 28:30
Yeah, it's an interesting balance. And it's, it's hard to know when you've tipped the scales of that balance. It's because, to be completely honest with you, for the longest time, I was certain that I was doing it well and I could do it on my own. And why would I get any help? Like everybody seems to be doing it by themselves so well. Why would I? But that's not necessarily the case, and I knew when it was time for me to ask for help and seek help and actually get the help was when I was no longer able to keep all of the balls in the air.
Danielle Famble 29:07
I spoke at VO Atlanta in March, and I told the story that I forgot to submit project files to one of my clients before I went on vacation, and I was certain that I was doing everything right, and I had my little board with all the things that I was doing and all of the projects, and I missed it, and I knew then that I needed someone to help me with accountability and someone who can help basically be my second pair of eyes with what I'm doing, and if I was not so scatterbrained at the time, I probably would have realized it and I wasn't sticking to a a workflow of how I run my business day to day, because I was just playing Whack a Mole with emails and doing everything that came up and just putting out fires. I wasn't, I hadn't, I didn't have a system, and bringing somebody else in gave me my second pair of eyes, but also forced me to have a system, because they needed something to do, and a way for checks and balances to make sure that it was being done appropriately and as I would do it.
Danielle Famble 30:18
So I think the thing to look out for, if you're feeling like maybe you're close to ready to outsource or get help, or what have you, is to figure out, where could you use some support, like, if you had a little bit of extra time or support in what in this way, how could that help you? For me, it was very clear, because I clearly forgot about this project. And maybe it is that clear for them, but it could be something that only you will know, and being honest enough with yourself to say, Okay, if I got maybe 10 hours a week of help, what could I do with that time? How could I be freed up and what? How much more money could I make?
Stephanie Roberts 31:04
I think for me too, it was during the pandemic when I realized I had all this extra time, and then suddenly I was like, but I don't want to spend that time doing invoices. I want to spend that time growing my business, but I can't grow my business if I'm stuck just following up doing invoices, yeah, all that kind of mundane day to day stuff that, again, like I personally don't need to do. So that's when I hired my virtual assistant, and she does something similar. She does invoices, and she does the research for cold emails. I do a bit of direct marketing, and she does the the sort of initial legwork of finding entering people into our database and drafting an email, and then I do the finishing touches, re reading, tweaking the email, if I need to, perusing the website, just making sure, like, oh yeah, this is what I want to say. This is, you know, the vibe I'm getting, and then I send. But it was a huge help, and it made me feel like a little bit of a weight lifted off, because, again, it made me feel like I could focus more, back to more of my energy and time back to the creative which, like is what I want to be doing. But all of that doesn't happen when your time is spent being bogged down with these other things I don't love always, like the small business tasks.
Danielle Famble 32:20
Yeah, I love that you identified what you don't like, because that's actually really one of the the first things to to outsource, is, if you don't like it, don't do it. I mean, find someone else who, who can help you with that, because I guarantee you that it takes you so much longer to do the things that you don't like to do. There are going to be things in your business that you don't enjoy doing. So identify those things. And if you're not at a place right now where you can outsource it, identify it so that when you are you know immediately the first things that you're going to do you're going to outsource. And I would also say one last thing to do while you're doing it, even if you don't like it, is document how you do it. So I use a software called Loom, which is like a screen recording software, and I would document how I made invoices so that I had a video of that process, and when it was time to outsource that task, I could explain what I wanted, but also give them a video of how to do it, so that they have a manual of how to run my business the way that I do.
Stephanie Roberts 33:36
That's so smart. And what about maintaining relationships with people and like repeat clients? Because I know that that can be such an important part of generating that sort of basis of a regular income. Is there anything that you do, or you have your assistant do that kind of helps with that?
Danielle Famble 33:51
I have found that the book out email before you go on a trip that, just like brings you back top of mind, we're recording this now. In two days, I'm leaving to go to vocation Costa Rica, and I sent out a book out email, actually, a couple of months ago, because I had several different times that I was going to be away, and I sent that out. And a lot of work has just kind of come in from it, but also it just brought up, like, conversations that I didn't know, like, one of my clients is half Costa Rican, and was like, We have family from there, and we haven't been and I really should go, and I should take my kid, and it just let us have a human conversation, which was great.
Stephanie Roberts 34:37
Yea, those do feel the least forced, because you're like, I genuinely have something to share with you, as opposed to like, oh, it's February. How you doing?
Danielle Famble 34:46
Right? And I think, I think just having something that is the least forced to be able to show your humanity, because, again, they're not going to be in the room with you. So however you can infer. Use that in your conversations with clients, repeat clients, it only helps, and it may not result in a cash infusion into your business immediately, but it humanizes you, which actually it makes you more valuable to your clients, I think, because they know you as a real person, not just, oh, we have this thing. Let's send it to Stephanie or whatever. Like making, making your humanity part of your business model is so important.
Stephanie Roberts 35:32
That's a that is a gem of a quote right there. I have to say that is, it's like such a great way to put it, because you are also the business. You are the thing that you're selling in the business. So that's a great way to think about it, that it's it still has to have a human element. And what about travel equipment? Are you someone who takes the travel equipment to kind of keep the ball rolling? Or do you say I'm booking out, I'm not doing anything while I'm gone?
Danielle Famble 35:56
I am the travel equipment person. I have my Tribooth, and I will be bringing it with me to Costa Rica. I've brought it with me to every place that I've been so far this year. I went to VO Atlanta, and within five minutes of me walking into my hotel, I got an email like, hey, Danielle, we need something. And so stepped into the hotel and quickly put my Tribooth together and was in a session. So I, I would love to have that, that disconnect, though I think at a certain point I am going to start booking out and and living by my book out dates. But right now, I I travel with my equipment, and I will record. I may not record as much as I would do if I were in my home studio, but I I travel with all my stuff, all of it.
Stephanie Roberts 36:49
I like to say I don't even own a laptop. I have a desktop computer. So even if I wanted to travel with equipment, I have nothing to record into.
Danielle Famble 36:56
I love that!
Stephanie Roberts 36:58
I am an anxious person who becomes more anxious with the idea of, where am I going to record, how am I going to build this fort? What is the conditions where, you know, all that kind of stuff, I have decided that my my best work is not done on the road with a travel setup, which I used to do, and it was so stressful for me that I decided I'm not going to do this anymore. I'm just going to book out and say I won't be here for a week. And if you need something, you can do it beforehand or afterwards. And thank you so much, because it just if, for me, it was just too much, too much like headache and heartache.
Danielle Famble 37:33
I am also an anxious person, and so having my security blanket, of all of my equipment with me has actually been what is kept me not as anxious.
Stephanie Roberts 37:45
Oh, that's so interesting,
Danielle Famble 37:46
Because I know that I can, you know, try and knock it out, and if, if you don't, if it doesn't sound like how you want it, at the very least, I've provided you something two sides, I guess, at the same coin of anxiety.
Stephanie Roberts 38:01
Now, I know you said that commercials is your sort of like main genre, your biggest genre in terms of income, but what, what do you think is second on the list? Or what's the what's another genre that you work in, that you feel like really helps to generate that the basis of your income?
Danielle Famble 38:16
It would be non broadcast. It would be the explainer videos, the corporate narration. I love elearning. I love it. I know that it can be a little bit tedious, but I love learning new things, and it's almost like micro learning, and you can record it when you can, you know on your time, it's not a directed session. I just, I just really enjoy it. I'm a nerd in that way.
Stephanie Roberts 38:45
I think that's awesome. I think it's interesting the people that gravitate towards that, or any sort of long form, and the people that are like, Nope, no way, I can't do it.
Danielle Famble 38:53
No, I did a very long, I mean, over the course of like, a couple years, I did one about, like, children and babies and, like, their growth and development. You know, I would get a new script every couple months or whatever. It wasn't like I was working on it day in, day out, but I learned so much about children and babies development, I mean, to the point that I was learning about, like, what their poop color meant. Like, it was just like, it was a very, very detailed e learning training. And, I mean, I don't have kids, I would never know that, and now I do. So I find it interesting. And e learning can be, you know, those kind of trainings can really be something that sustains a business, a voice over business, because it can be consistent if you if you find that consistent work, and the clients that would send you scripts consistently,
Stephanie Roberts 39:53
And what about slow times? How do you handle those? Is it something that you know, for me, sometimes it's like at that anxiety kind of creeps in, like, Oh no... There's like this, there's gonna be no more voiceover jobs ever. Or, like, you know, really getting like, kind of in the muck during those slow times. Is there anything that you do to kind of keep yourself positive, or keep things moving where you feel like you're still running that, you know, high level business, but without maybe the auditions or bookings coming in as quickly or frequently as you'd like.
Danielle Famble 40:22
I think being prepared for slow times helps you when they come. Knowing that they will come for me eases the anxiety, because it's like, oh, okay, this was likely going to happen, and I and I was prepared for it. Sometimes the anxiety comes up when you just when it just happens and you just weren't prepared. So making yourself or helping yourself be mentally prepared for the ebb and the flow of this business is helpful. Also, I lean into it like I will rest because I don't typically like I will be in my booth at one o'clock in the morning, and that is normal when I'm going I go and leaning into the slow times to allow myself to rest, because sometimes I am begging for it is really like that's the reframe of my in my mind, and also being financially prepared for it. I track the numbers and the money in my business religiously. I have a database in Notion where I track, like every audition that I've done, did that turn into a booking? How much was it? How much have I made this month? Having the money set to the side for slow times also helps me feel prepared for it as well. So, you know, it doesn't necessarily need to be feast or famine, but, but knowing that the slow time will come, if you can prepare yourself when things are amazing, the slow time doesn't feel so jarring.
Stephanie Roberts 42:01
Yes, absolutely. That's such great advice, because you're right. It can get very...especially when you get those jobs and it's like a great payout. It's really hard to remind yourself that a that you know may come and go, that that's maybe not going to be your next booking as well as the previous booking. And it's hard to not be like, Oh, what am I spending all of this money on? And then next month, have it be slow, and then all of a sudden you're stuck, and you're like, wow, I didn't budget for that. I spent all my money when I had it. And now what's going on? What do I do?
Danielle Famble 42:32
Having savings is a way to prepare for the slow times. And it's not always fun, it's not sexy, it's it's hard, but if you can, and I know not everyone is able to do that, but if you have the presence of mind, knowing when things are great, to kind of buffer yourself and have a little bit of money set to the side, helps with the financial anxiety when things get slower, but also knowing what you're going to do. Like, for me, I know I'm going to rest, I'm probably going to sleep in, or I'm going to go for a walk, I'm going to get some vitamin D and, like, go outside for a little bit. Just know, know what it is that you're going to do, and plan for that and be prepared for that. It helps it not feel so jarring when it happens.
Stephanie Roberts 43:26
Yeah, I think I'd asked a question in one of the voice over Facebook groups about like, what do people do during slow times? And a lot of people responded with some version of, I have a list of the things I can do during slow times, and I love that yours involves rest. What a smart way to do that, because when it's busy, there isn't as much time for that. And then some of the other ideas, I think, were, you know, like, clean up social media posts, literally, clean up your desk, your booth, vacuum, you know, all those little things that, again, once we're busy and we're in and out, we don't really have time to think about, or we don't, doesn't cross our mind.
Danielle Famble 44:00
My assistant and I have a list. We call it the middle children list, or the middle child list. We're both middle children. She and I, the middle kid is typically, like, the one who's like, forgotten about a little bit. And so these are the things that have that we need to do we've kind of forgotten about. So there's a huge middle child list. So going to the middle child list for me would be after I've rested, probably what I would do.
Stephanie Roberts 44:25
I love that. Is there anything else that you think has really helped you in in your business, like get to that milestone and maintain your six figure income?
Danielle Famble 44:37
I really think it's thinking about my business as a business from the beginning. By that, I mean like creating the infrastructure for what a business is and how a business is run, and what my role in that business is. So I really do look at myself as the CEO of the business that I'm running. And. And and what, what departments are working within my business, and how do I communicate my goals, my desires, my dreams in each one of those departments, so that we're all working toward the same ultimate vision and goal, and that is that's my job as the person running this business, and that I don't have to do everything. That mindset has really helped me keep my sanity, keep good head on my shoulders when it comes to like my time and the money, like what to do with it, and how to save and or invest in more equipment, or invest in myself and my skills. Really just like the mindset of like, running this business as a business has been so very helpful.
Danielle Famble 45:56
And I think even looking at the NAVA State of VO Survey is really interesting, because you can see the gamut of of what is possible and what people have disclosed about what they've made. I said in my in my talk at VO Atlanta, that I made half a million dollars last year in revenue in my voice over business. And I was speaking with a friend of mine who is on who just closed his Broadway show. I just remember thinking, like, there's no way in the world that I would make half a million dollars a year if I were performing on Broadway. And like, not necessarily just the amount of money, but like, the fact that I work from home, and that I live the life that I do and that I I would not have been able to have that had I continued on doing what I thought was my pinnacle, my, you know, Broadway or bust. That really, it really is so much better than I even imagined, because I I didn't think that kind of money was possible, but it absolutely is.
Stephanie Roberts 47:04
Like you don't think that money's possible in the performing arts unless you are, like a celebrity or, you know, in a major motion picture or something like that. So that is incredible.
Danielle Famble 47:15
You do not have to be with the upper echelon of like agents and managers and everything else, to have a six figure business. I mean, like I said, the six figure arm of my the non broadcast arm of my business, was just shy, just shy of six figures. And not all of it was what I'd booked through, you know, my reps. Some of it was, but some of it was stuff I got in my gotten on my own, or through a pay to play or or on rosters or whatever. So it's, it is, it is so possible to have a whatever you consider to be success, successful business, and it doesn't have to look like everybody else's. And I think that's where the looking at your business like you are the CEO of a business really makes sense, because it is just you are just looking at your business, and how can you optimize and create the business that you want, and that is successful, be it six figures or not
Stephanie Roberts 48:19
Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. I feel like we had so many great little spots of conversation about all different topics, and so thank you so much for being here today.
Danielle Famble 48:29
Of course, Stephanie, thank you so much for having me on.
Stephanie Roberts 48:34
Danielle is a force, right? She said so many incredible things, but I love how she thinks of politicals as a form of activism and how important human connection is. And I think she really proves that there is no ceiling to the income you can make in this business. Incredible. If you'd like to learn more about Danielle, I'm linking her website and socials in the show notes, which you can find at my website makingittothemic.com. Please make sure to follow or subscribe to this podcast where you're listening now so you don't miss an episode, and if you're enjoying the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you took a minute to leave a rating or review so I can reach more people. Thanks so much for listening, and here's a little preview of the next episode.
Andi Arndt 49:17
But whenever I met audiobook narrators, I just would think that's the thing, that's the pure thing. We're telling a story, and that's absolutely ancient. I'm not trying to sell something to somebody, because they already bought it. By the time I'm in their ears, they chose it.
Stephanie Roberts 49:36
That's next week on Making it to the Mic.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai