virtual assistants

Eventually there comes a point when you, working alone, can keep your career going, but you can't keep it growing. When you hit that wall, it's time to get an assistant. Trust me, a good one will change your life. These days, assistants can be "virtual" because so much of what they can help you with can be done via the computer! My VA lives in Wisconsin. She's not taking on any new clients, but these awesome, affordable gals are: Laura Mannino and Allison King specialize in assisting actors. Karen Souer specializes in assisting voice over artists.

Also check out the fine folks at Mindful Assistant.

I found my assistant through Assist U.

graphic designers

Do you have a one-sheet? It's a great marketing tool for actors and Tiwana Floyd (an actor herself) can whip one up for you.

Actor Mia Drake Inderbitzen is also a talented creator of tasteful, memorable marketing materials... as is actor Rich Montague.

life coaches

Lauri Johnson has been my life coach for almost ten years (I see her every year on my birthday) and without her insight and guidance, I'd be off in a corner still banging my head against a wall. She gets right to heart of the matter and tells-it-to-ya-straight. Love that.

Heidi Rose Robbins has also had a tremendous impact on my life – her insights have guided me through my biggest life transition yet. She uses astrology as her modality for coaching BUT she is completely down-to-earth... you will NOT be walking through beaded curtains and inhaling incense – I promise!

ADD coaches

If you have (or think you might have) ADD and feel you might need a coach to help you address those particular issues, create some consistency, and build some routines – I highly recommend Dr. Kim Kensington and Denslow Brown.

acting coaches

For comedic auditions & monologues, one person shows, sketches: Mike Randleman and Pam Forrest

For comedy: Scott Sedita

For auditions: Janice Kent and Amro Salama

For advanced theatrical / personal depth: James Wagner

Also... The Secrets Of Screen Acting Audio Archive is hands down the BEST (and most cost-effective) way to learn on-camera acting technique. My favorite genius, David Lawrence, convinced master teacher and author, Patrick Tucker, to delve deep into his wisdom and deliver how-to coaching in 5-minute audio nuggets of pure gold. Go to the site, check out a few “secrets” for free and judge for yourself whether or not listening to and practicing with Patrick’s guidance would improve your on-camera acting technique. It’s a steal.

red carpet ready

A friend of mine was invited to a BIG DEAL Hollywood function. She was freaked about what to wear (let alone how to AFFORD what she needed to wear!) She ended up in a stunning $800 Badgley Mischka dress... for less than $175. How? Well, she got this scoop from a high-level actress friend of hers: Rent The Runway. My friend said the whole process worked super-smoothly from beginning to end.

I love my hair guy, Edwin Co. Sooooo talented! He's cut and colored me for over 10 years – and has always been there in a pinch when I needed to be camera ready.

Blow-outs at The Dry Bar and make-up application at Blushington (right next door to each other!)

Need hands-on help? Alicia Ying is an actor and a natural-born stylist.  She will over-haul your closet (even organize it for you!) and take you shopping for clothes that fit your budget and bring forth your Best Self. And Lisa Berman is truly one-of-a-kind and the perfect fit for those who definitely want to get noticed.

masseuses

I've kept a list in my mind of the best masseuses I'd ever worked with.  For a long time, there were only 2 and both were men.  I never thought a woman would be able to join that list.  Then I met Monique Jones. Monique is truly talented – gifted with an amazing physical touch and with an instinct about the connections between our thoughts, our feelings, and our sore feet!  The icing on this (already awesome) cake is that she provides a top-notch, spa-quality experience in my own home. Believe me, the investment in a session with her – which is really an investment in your own health and happiness – is definitely worth every penny.

I have also had the pleasure of being totally melted by the talents of Rachel Hardy and Jonathan Whittle-Utter.

personal trainers

I call Andrew Heffernan my "physical counselor" because he is helping me transform inside and well as outside.

In my next life, I want to reincarnate in the body of Kendra Smith. (Think: Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2.) She is lovely and amazing and will Kick. Your. Ass.

That said, weight loss is 20% exercise and 80% nutrition. Need some hands-on help with that? Holly Gonzales is a delightful, caring, and knowledgeable guide.

house cleaners

I helped actress Juanita Chase start her little side business and now she has a great, affordable crew of house cleaners. I have used them myself (as have many of my clients.)

organizers

Want to get more organized? After 15 years, I've retired as a professional organizer – but all of my articles and favorite resources are still available over at Personalized Organization.

Need hands-on help? Kate Brown, Milby Baron and Fay Wolf are at your service. I know them all very well and they all have experience organizing actors.

life of the party

Random, but useful... cuz who wants their guests to be bored?

When I turned 35, I celebrated with a birthday-slash-Tupperware party SPECIFICALLY so I could have the amazing and talented Kevin Farrell dazzle us all as his alter ego: Tupperware Queen Dee W. Ieye!!! It was AWESOME. If you want to have a fun get-together, (or hey, just need a thing that stores half an onion) I cannot recommend him highly enough. You'll see why Kevin became the #1 personal retail
Tupperware salesperson in the nation!

Want to get your guests on their feet – or just have them enjoy a great show? Actress / dancer / DJ Sara Fenton has plenty of experience bringing music and dance to events for all ages – from sing-a-longs at kids parties to disco bar mitzvahs to belly dancing for the older crowd.

best cheap date ever

The Annenberg Space For Photography is one of THE coolest museums in town - and 100% free 100% of the time.

And after my husband and I go to that museum, we always scoot a few blocks over to Clementine - one of our favorite cafes. Makes the date a little less cheap but their food is so yummy I can never resist.


(back to top)

networking

The Actors' Network is an amazing one-of-its-kind organization. Back in 1996, I attended an orientation. I sat in the back row with my arms folded fully expecting it to be just another place trying to scam actors because it sounded too good to be true. Much to my surprise, it was good AND it was true! I owe much of my success in the worlds of acting, organizing, and career strategy directly to my involvement with The Actors’ Network. For anyone pursuing (or thinking about pursuing) an acting career in L.A., I urge you to check out their website and join online – or, if you're in L.A., attend a free orientation – to really see for yourself what a valuable font of information, networking, support, and opportunity this place is. Case in point: their online resource section is so enormous and thorough that I am not even going to try to duplicate it on this site – just join and use their links!

Inspired by The Actors' Network, the extremely talented (and dedicated!) Michelle Lee created The Hair and Make-Up Artists' Network - an educational resource center and networking group for her peeps to expand their knowledge of both their business and their craft.

Networking BootCamp: Your Protection From Rejection is the audio recording of my live 5-week Networking BootCamp. In it I cover pretty much everything you'd want to know about how to build industry relationships without feeling icky, intrusive, aggressive, or needy.  Once upon a time I was a total wallflower – so basically, I created the course I wish had existed for me when I was an actor!

Steve Pavlina is a thoughtful and thought-provoking blogger. This is his 12-part series on how to network with busy people.

financial abundance

Financial organization is vital to success and no one helps "turn starving artists into money magnets" better than my colleague, Miata Edoga. Smart, passionate, and engaging, Miata created Abundance Bound to provides financial education to actors, artists and creative people. She will give you the game plan for changing your financial circumstances forever. It’s not a gimmick... she just gives you information and insight you probably have never learned before and she supports you in integrating it into your life.

Another gem from thoughtful and thought-provoking blogger Steve Pavlina – this one is about how to make money from your art.

marketing

If you want to know how to take killer headshots, create eye-catching marketing pieces, or be your own publicist, Dallas Travers has a LOT of knowledge to share – all of it tailored especially for actors.  She's a very smart cookie.

Marketing for the voice over industry is its own unique niche and voice actor Doug Turkel walks the walk and – fortunately for you – he continues to be willing to talk the talk. He's helped several folks that I've sent his way. (Ask nicely and he might help you too.)

Robert Middleton's website is an indispensable educational resource for independent professionals – it's where I first learned how to market and grow my business.

personal branding

Sam Christensen teaches acting (brilliantly) but what makes him uber-unique are his personal branding and imaging courses. Nothin' else like 'em. Every artist needs to understand how other people see them... and how to capitalize on that p.o.v.  I took his branding class years ago and his are the only acting-related notes I still have in my files.  The info is that helpful.

building a small side business

As Naomi Dunford puts it: "IttyBiz is a place to get tips, advice, motivation, and support for your very small business. If you’re working from home or just thinking about it, come and hang out here for some great ideas and bad jokes." She's a pro. Top-notch advice, always.

Truth is, I am just not a gal cut out to sit in a cube. The longest I've ever been able to stay put in one job was about 2.5 years. So I knew I had to figure out how to make money to support my acting career in a way that wouldn't make me go insane. My Your Little Side Biz course is an rganized brain-dump of everything I learned about creating a small side biz, attracting and keeping clients, and pricing my services so I would actually make a profit. This info is guaranteed to shave years off your learning curve.

Blogger Chris Guillebeau asked his audience to answer this question: "If you were short on cash and had to make an extra $300-500 in the next 30 days (legally, of course) how would you do it?" He got over 300 replies and you can read them and collect some ideas here.

persuasive communication

Copyblogger offers a wealth of top-notch, free information about how to make your written communication genuine, clear, compelling, and persuasive.

procrastination

I'm a fan of Havi Brooks. She is gloriously fun and anti-stuffy. Her The Procrastination Dissolve-o-Matic is (as she puts it), "an ebook/audio/training packet/kit thing" that gives you specific tools to use to get past the paralysis of putting stuff off so you can actually start doin' your thang!

voice over industry info

If you're pursuing any type of voice over work – commercials, narration, promo, imaging, animation, audiobooks, etc. – I highly recommend that you do the following:

1) Get a FREE (yea!) subscription to The VoiceOver Insider – the national online magazine of the voice over industry published by the lovely voice over artist, Julie Williams.

2) Peruse the awesome classes-on-CD that veteran voice over artist Pat Fraley has available on his site. Learn from this master! Likewise, take a look at the audio learning programs coach Nancy Wolfson has to offer as well.

3) Make it a habit to peek at The Voiceover Boblog at least once each week. Bob Souer is The Man. Along with creating a thriving, full-time voice over career, Bob created an extremely valuable resource for his industry. Whenever someone asks me how to jump-start a voice over career, I send them straight to Bob's blog. Read it once or twice a week, click on his massive list of links and your fingers will soon be on the pulse of what's movin' and shakin' in the VO world.

4) Attend Faffcon. It's the "un-conference" for working VO pros created by the amazing Amy Snively. Not only will you get a boat-load of insider info, but you will become a part of a caring and generous community of talented people.

blogs

I know contributors to each of these blogs personally:

Answers to your burning questions: ActingAnswers.com

Great insight and interviews: BrainsOfMinerva.com

3 perspectives from LA, Chicago and NYC: PlaybillsVsPayingBills.com

Guidance from some of LA's best coaches: MasterTalentTeachers.com

podcasts

These are my industry-related addictions:

The Treatment with Elvis Mitchell

Meet The Filmmaker live at the Apple Store

WTF with Marc Maron

The Business with Kim Masters

info-rich DVD commentaries

Yes, some DVD commentary tracks are totally lame. But every so often I'll find a gem that truly illuminates the business and creative processes of developing a television show or feature film – the choices, the compromises, the conflicts, the happy accidents, and the total surprises. Commentaries by creators, writers and directors on the pilot episodes of TV shows can be particularly enlightening – the ones for Damages and Mad Men come to mind.

While the actual film itself is only so-so, Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan's commentary track for The TV Set is awesome. The film is based on their actual struggles with networks to retain their creative vision... but in the commentary track they let it rip, name names and tell it all!

Okay, this isn't a commentary track, it's an actual documentary: Every Little Step.  It's a telling of how the musical A Chorus Line was created (very uniquely) that's interwoven with footage from the casting process for the 2006 Broadway revival.  Not only is it always informative to see the reasons why any creative team makes their casting choices, but also this film captures the best audition monologue I've ever seen someone do (Jason Tam).  It's worth the rental just to see that audition alone.  (THAT is what people are hoping you do when you walk in a room.)

inspiration

A select few of my personal favorites:

I've watched this too many times to admit. Will Smith is cool.

A little reality check: first, go here. Then click on "portfolio," then click on any thumbnail photo to enlarge, then put your cursor on top of the photo - then move it off. On, off, on off, on, off...

Art is cool. It can take such surprising forms and communicate so much without words. In case you are not amongst the 16 million+ people who have seen this video, I highly recommend it. I simply adore watching talented people do their thing. She's telling a story from her country's war-torn past in a most unique way.

Philosopher's Notes is one of my favorite things ever. Just do yourself a favor and get 'em. Listen to one a day. And if you truly can't afford it, Brian even offers a sliding "pick your price" scale. Because that how he rolls.

So often actors are told by various industry people that "you should always be in class." I disagree. (Cuz there are times when your money is best directed towards other areas of your career.) However, I DO think that actors should always be acting – a point explained very well in this post from Wil Wheaton's blog.

(back to top)

learning your lines

My favorite genius, David Lawrence created Rehearsal, a first-of-its-kind app, to help actors learn their lines via their mobile devices.  Worth checking out!  The future is now, baby.

David Lawrence also took classic Shakespeare scripts and put them into screenplay format – making the original text MUCH easier to read and memorize.

email management

Ahhh... email overload. Hate it! Hate it! Here's Merlin Mann's free Inbox Zero info to the rescue. Clever thoughts and coping methods, delivered with enough humor to keep you from clubbing your monitor to bits.

camera / film equipment rentals

Two actors (and cool dudes), Reko and Rob, run Best Bet Camera, one of the most affordable film equipment rental companies around.

what is SlyDial?

Need to leave a message but don't want to talk to the person?  Want to leave a message at 2 a.m. in the morning without waking them up? SlyDial is one of my favorite FREE tools. Use it to call someone's cell phone and be sent directly to their voice mail even if they have their phone on!

send faxes for free via your computer

What if I told you you can send a fax without having a fax machine AND do it for free without leaving home? FaxZero makes it so.

DIY websites

Two of my non-tech-savvy actor friends have had great success creating websites all by themselves using Wix.  There are other such services out there, but I can show you real-life samples from this one: Jen Reiter and Jennifer Marsala

The truth is, as your life expands, you'll probably need more than one website... so it makes sense to learn how to whip one up for yourself. Sarah Sido teaches you the DIY basics in such a simple and fun way that even I can understand it.

Have a website but just need a maintenance man to add and fix and move things around every now and then? Loren Kling is your dude for that.

(back to top)