Live from VO Atlanta! Anne and Gabby head to Atlanta for their first ever live podcast! During the VO Atlanta conference, they met up with two kick butt bosses who graciously offered us some insight into their bossness. First up is Tre Mosley! Tre talks about his high and low times in the VO world, how the voiceover community has treated him, his go-to marketing secrets and some encouraging words for all of us in the VO biz.
Takeaways
Quick Concepts from Today’s Episode:
Cold calls/emails WORK!
Save your money for the months when you don’t have a lot coming in
Put on your Rambo Boots and go hard on the marketing
Don’t box yourself into one thing
Referenced in this Episode
Direct links to things we brought up ++
Transcript
VO: Today’s voiceover talent is more than just a pretty voice. today’s voiceover talent has to be a boss, a VO BOSS. Set yourself up with business owner strategies and success with your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with some of the strongest voices in our industry. Rock your business like a boss, a VO BOSS.
Gabby: Hey, guys. It’s Anne and Gabby. So you know, we get asked an awful lot how people can work with the bosses and get more boss in their life. And so we decided we should team up even more to give you guys what you want. so we’ve created a brand-new product that we want to tell you a little bit about.
Anne: Yeah, so excited. It is called boss brilliance. First of all, if you want to be brilliant, you need boss brilliance. This is a team consult with both myself and Gabby, where we will activate our Wonder Twin powers just for you. [laughter]
Gabby: I love that.
Anne: Because —
Gabby: I want to touch rings. I want to touch rings.
Anne: And what I love about it is that it is the two of us teamed up.Two bosses are better than one.
Gabby: That’s right.
Anne: And with our combined experience, we are ready to help you guys take it to the next level whether you need help with sales, branding, marketing, infrastructure, whatever it is. Sign up for Boss Brilliance consult with us today.
Gabby: If you want a good boss kick in the pants, this is it, guys.
Anne: [laughter]
Gabby: This is your chance, Boss Brilliance. You can find it on our website at voboss.com.
Anne: And now, on to today’s episode. Hey, guys. It’s Anne and Gabby, and we are here with a special podcast episode for you guys, coming to you live from VO Atlanta.
Gabby: This was recorded during the show, and we are very excited to have an incredibly special guest with us, the awesome Tre Mosley. Let’s take a listen to our talk with him at VO Atlanta 2018.
Anne: Welcome, everybody, to the VO BOSS podcast. I’m your host, Anne Ganguzza, along with my beautiful — yay! –boss best he, — bestie, Gabby Nistico.
Gabby: Hey.
Anne: Hey, Gabby.
Gabby: Hi. [laughter] So we never do this live.
Anne: This is so weird.
Gabby: This is the first time we have ever recorded live.
Anne: Look at me looking at you.
Gabby: I know, I know. I’m like freaked out. Stop, stop looking at me. Don’t, don’t look at me. I can’t — We’ve never actually —
Anne: You are so much prettier in person.
Gabby: Aw.
Anne: Not that you are not pretty.
Gabby: Aw. Well, you’re pretty too.
Anne: Aw.
Gabby: Tre, you might have to leave now.
Tre: OK, well.
Gabby: It’s getting a little too personal. [laughter]
Tre: Thanks for coming. Tonight on Spice.
[laughter]
Anne: Wait.
Gabby: So wait a second.
Anne: We’ve never done this live.
Gabby: This is the first time we’ve ever done the VO BOSS podcast live.
Anne: And I’m so excited.
Gabby: Same space. Same space. I love it.
Anne: I think we should — well, you know what? We do a thing monthly — umm to be coming soon monthly called Boss Talks.
Gabby: Yes.
Anne: And so we have actually advertised this as Boss Talks. We have one of my favorite people, and I know one of Gabby’s favorite people too, Tremaine Mosley. Thank you so much!
Tre: Hello, ladies.
Anne: Yeah!
Tre: How’s it going, how’s it going?
Gabby: Hi. Hello.
Anne: Yay!
Gabby: This is so much fun. We’re like, we’re the whole voiceover community. Like, we are all here at VO Atlanta. Like, we’re all like a bunch of giddy teenagers.
Tre: Like children.
Gabby: Yeah beacause —
Anne: We’ve not been let out.
Gabby: We never see each other. It’s so freaking exciting.
Tre: True, very true.
Gabby: To get in the same room.
Anne: It is.
Tre: And I’ve seen people that I haven’t seen in years who may not have been here since may be the first or second conference.
Gabby: Oh wow.
Tre: “Hey, remember about three years ago we met?” I’m like, “we did? We did!” And then it’s big reunion again. So this has been fun.
Anne: And it just reinforces the sense of community and how close we are with one another, and just, it’s wonderful to see everyone, and we, Gabby, I’m super, super happy that — Gabby and I have been stopped like in the hallway.
Gabby: Yeah.
Anne: By fans.
Gabby: Yeah, it’s a little weird, yeah.
Anne: We have a little bit of a fan base.
Gabby: We do.
Anne: That’s so exciting.
Gabby: We do.
Anne: And people are thanking us for the podcast, and we —
Tre: The VO BOSS fan club.
Anne: — couldn’t be more honored or happy to be providing this podcast. It’s one of my favorite things to do, and again, I say it over and over again, I’ve always wanted to work with Gabby. And I get to do this on, like, gosh, on a couple of days a week basis.
Tre: Are we gonna cry now?
Gabby: I know.
Anne: So…
Tre: Are we gonna cry now?
Gabby: No, not yet.
Anne: I know, there’s so —
Tre: I’m gonna cry.
Anne: — much love.
Tre: You’re gonna cry.
Gabby: No, no crying. There’s no crying in voiceover.
Anne: That’s right. [laughter]
Tre: Unless it’s scale.
Gabby: Voiceover. Alright, true.
Anne: [laughter]
Gabby: But no, here’s, So here’s the thing, this is one of, what I find interesting, anyways. We’re — all these people that are stopping us and talking to us and going, “oh my gosh, we listen to the podcast. The VO BOSSes are here!” I, I find that the funniest part because the VO BOSS podcast was never about us being the bosses.
Anne: Yeah.
Gabby: It was about everybody else.
Tre: Everybody else.
Anne: Everybody else.
Tre: Yeah.
Gabby: It’s, it’s you sitting in that chair, looking at us.
Anne: It’s Tremaine siting in that chair, being the boss.
Gabby: Everyone else being the boss, and, and, and this was I think one of our big wants with the whole thing was to be in the trenches with voice actors who were doing it every day, who were toughing it out, the good, the bad, the ugly.
Anne: Yes.
Gabby: And kicking ass and doing this for a living.
Anne: Absolutely.
Tre: Yeah.
Anne: And, and really, and really having an audience so that we don’t feel so isolated. Tre, I’ve followed you from, I want to say, how many years back, at least five years back if not longer than that.
Tre: Yeah.
Anne: But I met you in L.A.
Tre: Yes.
Anne: That was the first time I met you in person, and you had just started if I, if I remember right.
Tre: Yeah, I got lost in L.A.
Anne: You did? [laughter] You did!
Tre: And everybody kept texting me, “are you OK? Where are you?” I’m like, “umm Union Station, and I don’t know where.”
[Anne and Gabby laugh]
Tre: And funny, funny story about that whole trip. I give so much props to, to homeless people, and I’ll tell you why. So I get off in LAX. Uber drops me off at Union Station. I’m like “hey, L.A., I’m here. Where the hell is here?” Don’t know where the hotel is, no cab would take me down Sunset. So this homeless guy is being – and he says, “hey, you’re trying to get to sunset?” I’m like, “yeah.” “Well, there’s a bus coming. It’s the 415. It’ll be here in about an hour, and it’ll take you straight there. Tell the guy you just need to transfer to so-and-so and so.” And I’m like, “how does he…?” But sure enough, there was the bus. I hopped on.
Anne: Wow.
Tre: I said, “hey, I’m trying to get uh to the Grafton Inn,” He’s like, “oh, on Sunset. Yeah, we’ll take you.” I’m like… So homeless guy be listening, thank you.
Gabby: Nice.
Anne: Aww, hat’s so nice.
Tre: And umm one of the things that I took from that, people that I had only met on Facebook but not in person —
Anne: mm-hmm.
Tre: They kept texting. “Hey, where are you? Where are you now? Are you OK? I can’t — I got a buddy who can come and check on you.”
Anne: Yes, yes.
Tre: And it was just real cool, and me as a rookie kind of like sweating. And I got a backpack, my laptop in one arm, and I got my carry-on. I’m looking so the tourist.
Anne: mm-hmm.
Tre: And people are like, “yeah, we are going to get him.”
Anne: [laughter]
Tre: Please don’t kill me. But I got to the hotel unscathed, and then I met the lovely Anne.
Anne: Yes.
Gabby: Aww.
Tre: That was —
Anne: And I immediately was taken.
Tre: That was for That’s VoiceOver, if I’m not mistaken. So you guys kind of welcomed me into the fold, and…
Anne: Yep.
Tre: Five years later, here I am.
Anne: Speaking of the trenches, you really have worked.
Tre: Yeah.
Anne: And worked and worked. And I know, Gabby, you’ve, you’ve had a lot of experience working with Tre as well.
Tre: Yeah, she helped me on my promo demo.
Gabby: Yep. Yep, yep, yep.
Tre: I met you first, but here, the very first conference.
Gabby: Ohhh.
Tre: You had a rose or a flower in your hair.
Gabby: Yep, yep, that’s right.
Tre: And I sat in on your session.
Gabby: There we go. But yes, but we never actually —
Tre: Never actually —
Gabby: Spoke, right. And then Facebook, and I became a fan because I was following everybody’s favorite kitty, Smoky. No offense, no offense to your kitties.
Anne: Aw. Oh, you have a special Kitty.
Gabby: I love Smoky.
Tre: So, he is — the house will be destroyed, I know, when I finally get back.
Gabby: [laughter]
Anne: That little sweetie.
Tre: I just hope, you know, it’s in one piece.
Anne: When you talk to — I love the videos.
Tre: He talks back.
Anne: Yeah, he does.
Tre: “Good morning!” “Meow.” “Are you hungry?” “Mrraow.”
Anne: It’s ok, Smoky’s got a cousin, Sabrina.
Tre: I have let him see her. I say, “you see your cousin, Sabrina?”
Anne: Sabrina.
Gabby: Awww.
Anne: That’s right. So…
Tre: I don’t think they will ever meet unless, you know, we just happen to take a trip out to Cali.
Anne: Hey, you never know. Tre, I’d like to hear, tell us a little bit about your journey after both we met you in the, in the beginning of stages of your voice over career. Tell us a little bit about your journey and how it’s been and what have been your challenges.
Tre: I guess my biggest challenge is, for me, what it’s always been, and I’ve had to learn over the years to stop doing it, being that this is such a — it’s a tight-knit community, but it’s also very competitive. And you know, I was just talking to someone earlier about it. You can be auditioning for something, and your best friend could be up for it too. You know,that person gets it, you’re happy at least on the surface, but inside you’re like “dammit,” and you’re not genuinely upset at the person forgetting it. You just wish it was you.
Anne: mm-hmm.
Tre: As a rookie, that used to eat me up a lot. I would go out for stuff and not get it, and then see the spot, and it would just eat at me. And it, that took years to get over. And I really didn’t know how to come to grips with it. And then there would be dry spells where three, four months would go by, and there’s no work. I’m like, “maybe corporate ain’t so bad. I can go back and still do IT,” and I’m like, “no, I don’t think so.” So I got into the mindset. I started to come to more conferences, meeting more people like you lovely ladies, and umm start getting some coaching under my belt. And it’s, nothing is rewarding as hearing veterans who have been in this 10, 20 plus years giving you the kind of acknowledgment that, “you know, you got something. I know you’re kind of wavering about what you want to do right now, but if you give yourself a couple more years, and you keep plugging, things are going to happen.” Umm there’ve been times I just wanted to pawn everything and sell it, and like, yeah. And, you know, I’ve had several friends talk me off the bridge. My wife has talked me off the bridge, and I stuck with it. And I learned the value of learning how to market myself. You know, a lot of people think that once you get a couple of agents that, you know, velvet ropes are gonna fall and just bookings are going to fall out of the sky.
Anne: [laughter]
Tre: It’s not gonna happen, people.
Anne: [laughter]
Tre: You really have to brand yourself, market yourself. I came up with umm my own brand. And when I hand clients my business card, they see my name in the middle of apuzzle piece, and they go, “I don’t understand. What’s that all about?” I say, ” well, I’m the missing piece to your voiceover puzzle.” And then it clicks as they think about it. Last piece you need is that, that person, that voice to speak your product into existence. I’m that missing piece, and then it clicks. It’s like, “that’s really clever.” It’s a great conversation piece, and it’s gotten me a lot of business. LinkedIn, I usually spend about an hour or so between LinkedIn, just looking up different production companies. And people, if you are listening, cold calling works. You may hate it.
Gabby: mm-hmm.
Anne: mm.
Tre: But it works. Even cold emails. I’ll send an email. This guy was like, “hey, that’s pretty cool. Like your voice. Got something for you. I’m doing a web series. Not gonna pay much, maybe about 300 bucks a video.” I say, “how many videos are you guys doing?” Well, this guy’s on the 90-day weight loss program. 300 bucks a week for 90 days? Let’s talk. So now I’m doing their um, their in-narration. So umm what ended up happening, he’s like, “hey, we got some other stuff down the road, and we definitely want to keep you.” So now I got a recurrent client.
Anne: Fantastic.
Tre: And I found them through cold calls and emails. So it works, people. Do it. Do it. Do it.
Anne: Now Tre, I want to talk to you, speaking of. You are also a little bit out of the box. You did something marketing-wise that was out of the box not so long ago.
Tre: yes.
Anne: And I was very impressed, so if you can share that with the listeners.
Tre: Sure. So there’s a beverage that I drink. Umm I’m not a big lush, but I do enjoy some adult beverages from time to time, and I love the product so much that umm [laughter] I…. went to their website, and I noticed that they had a bunch of videos, but they didn’t have any voiceover at all. The videos were cool, nice music, nice Latin beat to it. I’m like, OK. I’m waiting for the guy to say the name of the brand.
Anne: mm-hmm.
Tre: Maybe it’s on the next video. So about five videos —
Gabby: [laughter]
Tre: Five videos down, no, no guy or no gal. Nobody.
Gabby: Nobody.
Tre: So I took one of the videos and made my own mock video. I added my own music to it and uhh put my voice to it, went to their Facebook page. I’m like, “you guys have some great stuff. But wouldn’t it sound better if you had this guy?” And maybe a month or so went by, and all of a sudden I got an inbox from them through Facebook. “Hey, that was really great what you did with our stuff. Umm, our production company’s gonna reach out to you.” Nothing has come to fruition yet. We’re still in that dating phase.
Gabby: mm-hmm.
Tre: But at least the lines are open.
Anne: One of my largest clients, I courted him for eight months.
Tre: Wow.
Anne: It was not an easy sale. Bravo for that and uh…
Tre: And the really cool thing about it, people who also enjoy the drink, they started liking it, liking the video.
Anne: Right.
Tre: So they say stuff like we might be on — this guy is getting some hits. So not only do they do it on Facebook, I took the same spot, and I put it on my Instagram.
Anne: mm-hmm.
Tre: And then I tagged — I followed them, the company, on Instagram as well, and even more hits.
Anne: mm-hmm.
Tre: So it started getting enough traction to where now I’m on their radar —
Anne: Excellent.
Tre: — versus me being on — You know what I’m saying?
Gabby: Something you said a little earlier about, you know, those days when you uhh basically almost said, “oh, I’m going to sell it all. I’m done, I’m out.”
Tre: Yes.
Gabby: So that to me is the um quintessential struggle, fight of the actor, you know? We all have the self-loathing. We all have that self-doubt. We all, and we take things very personally. We take them to heart, you know. A loss is catastrophic sometimes, and a win is just the greatest thing in the universe.
Tre: You better believe it.
Anne: Yeah.
Gabby: So how’ve you, how have you coped with that? Because I see you. I, I’ve seen what you’ve done. I know, you know, a little bit into that, but I want insight for people out there in how you’ve done that.
Tre: It’s not easy.
Gabby: mm-mm.
Tre: You get into a space where you know you have a certain level of talent. And it’s all about getting in front of people, the decision-makers, the check writers, you know, those who can really put you — either you’re up where the cream is or you’re just part of the crust. And sometimes it’s gonna get really crusty.
[all laugh]
Tre: umm…
Anne: Crusty.
Tre: It’s gonna get reeaally, really crusty.
Gabby: Some days, yes. Some days our careers are crusty, it’s true.
Tre: Yeah, it’s, you know, you’re either pie or your the crust, and nobody really likes the crust.
[Anne and Gabby laugh]
Tre: At least I don’t. Umm…
Anne: You need to cut those crusts off.
Tre: Yeah, you have to cut the crust off.
Anne: Cut the crusts.
Tre: I think my wife likes crust. She loves crust. I’m not a crusty guy. But how I —
Anne: It makes you authentic, if you think about it.
Tre: There you, there you go.
Anne: Those crusts make you authentic. And yeah, I don’t think it’s, I don’t think it’s — [laughter] — I don’t think, I don’t think — Gabby was saying, I think we all go through it.
Tre: You do.
Anne: It’s an emotional intelligence.
Tre: What I’ve learned to do though is when the bookings are kind of slow, then I look for other avenues. That’s when — VO is an all-day business. I’ve been asleep and wake up like, “that would be a good idea. Look that up on Google and see if there is a market for that.” That’s the time where you really attack, when you’re having those lulls. When the checks aren’t coming in, that’s when you go and get creative.
Anne: Get creative.
Tre: You go like Rambo and put on your full gear, and you go attack, uhh especially if you’ve had those months where month after month after month, uou know, the doorbell’s been ringing with checks, and you are like, “this is good. PayPal just blowing up,” and then all of a sudden, “I don’t…hello? Check?” No check. Go hustle.
Anne: mm-hmm.
Tre: Hit those production companies. Umm so when the big ones aren’t there, then go get the small ones, and stack it up, and save your money.
Anne: mm-hmm.
Tre: Save it.
Gabby: Very good advice.
Anne: Very good advice, because there are the highs and the lows. That’s just the nature of the business. And so I think that part of our, our, our purpose of being bosses is to prepare ourselves for that and then have that predictable income.
Tre: Yeah.
Anne: Which can help when the other non-predictable income happens.
Tre: Yes.
Anne: Because that is our business is non-predictable. So try to figure out uhh and keep — I like how you mentioned that in the beginning, people were like, give yourself a couple of years. We see it. We know the potential, and the thing is is that it doesn’t always — it never almost happens overnight.
Tre: mmm.
Anne: And it is something that we are working continually and honing our craft.
Tre: And reinvent yourself.
Anne: mm-hmm.
Tre: If you’re a guy or gal that’s, your bread and butter has been commercials, and the commercials are getting kind of slow, then look at e-learning. Look at some different forms of narration. Umm it may not be glamorous, but it’s good money in it.
Anne: Pays the bills.
Tre: Oh yeah. There’s so many avenues in voiceover that you can’t just box yourself into one thing because then you start to learn about yourself like, “I didn’t know I could do that.” Now you got another notch or another tool in your toolbox, so when those commercials are getting kind of low, you know, you go and contact of those e-learning developers, those who are doing medical or corporate narration. Let them know what you can do. Another avenue is work from other voice actors. I’ve got a lot of referrals. A buddy of mine who does —
Gabby: That’s cause everybody loves you.
Anne: Yeah.
Tre: Oh well, OK.
Gabby: [laughter]
Anne: That is true.
Tre: Stop it.
Gabby: You have, you have one of the best, you know, friend bases, I think in this industry. Everybody who meets you just goes, “oh Tre.”
Anne: You’re so genuine. I think–
Gabby: “I love the guy.”
Anne: You just, you are very authenticm and genuinem and generous.
Tre: Well I, I try to be the best me every day, with all the bad stuff that’s going on. And someone approached me the other day and said, “you know, VO stuff aside, some of the things that you post are just very positive and inspiring. Something about your vibe that I’ve had some of my worst days and then I see something you post, and it is like, you know what? He’s right. It’s not that bad.” Because we could be thinking about far worse things going on.
Anne: So true.
Tre: When I post stuff, I don’t want you having the kind of day like “ahhh, well, it’s Tuesday.” Yeah, it is Tuesday. But guess what? You know, you are here. And you get a chance to screw up like everybody else, and then guess what? You can do it tomorrow and the next day, but you’re here.
Anne: Yep, exactly.
Tre: So if I can provide that little, you know, spot in your day, “that was really cool what he said,” and I’m all for it.
Gabby: I, I’ll tell you on a personal note, I don’t normally do this. I don’t bug my husband with “oh, make friends with this voice actor. Make friends” — cause he’s like, all of you guys, just not — you know. “That’s what she does for a living. I don’t want to.”
Tre: Yes.
Gabby: And he kind of, but you in particular, years ago, I said, “you need, you need to take a look at this,” because you consistently almost daily, you’re putting out those little affirmations.
Anne: Yep.
Gabby: And those little moments that just, yeah, make everybody smile and happy and just give a moment of pause that we all so desperately need.
Tre: Yeah?
Gabby: And I was like, “no, go friend, friend Tre,” and he did. And I was like — because yeah, it was, it was so beyond voiceover at that what I felt for you —
Tre: I met him last year. He was cool, say like, “hey, how you doing, man?”
Anne: Well, to be honest, you know what, if you think that — OK. Even though it probably wasn’t meant to be, it’s a brilliant marketing move because think about it. It is, you know, people buy from people they know, like, and trust. And so when people enjoy working with you, that’s half the battle.
Tre: Yeah.
Anne: I mean, gosh knows I’d want to hire you above some other people that I ‘ve worked with that have not been as pleasant.
Tre: Well, give me a call, Anne.
Anne: You know what I’m saying? And so, absolutely.
Tre: I’m in the book.
Gabby: [laughter] How do people get in touch with you?
Anne: Yes.
Tre: Well, if you want to get in touch with me, you can go to my website, which is trespeaksforyou.com. That’s T-R-E S-P-E-A-K-S F-O-R Y-O-U. It’s long, but it’s necessary.
Anne: [laughter]
Tre: Dot com.
Anne: Thank you so much, Tre, for joining us.
Tre: Thanks, ladies. I enjoyed it.
Anne: It’s been a pleasure.
Tre: This has been fun.
Anne: Enjoy the rest of your conference.
Tre: Yes. Right now I’m —
Anne: And keep spreading that wonderful you.
Tre: Yeah, I’m going to enjoy a nap right now, though.
Anne: Nice. I could use a nap too.
Gabby: Take one for me. Yeah. For both of us.
Tre: A short one.
Anne: [laughter]
Gabby: A little power nap.
Tre: This has been fun, ladies. Thank you.
Gabby: Thank you.
VO: Join us next week for another edition of VO BOSS with your hosts Anne Ganguzza and Gabby Nistico. All rights reserved Anne Ganguzza Voice Talent in association with Three Moon Media. Redistribution with permission.
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