We were lucky to catch up with Shelley Avellino recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Shelley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
Well, I have always been creative since a child. I grew up playing musical instruments, singing, drawing and painting and knew I wanted to do one of those things “when I grew up”. It was going to be music originally, but I ended up going to Art College and getting a degree in 3D Design, Ceramics and Glass. I quickly found out that, it was VERY difficult to make a living, back then as a woman in this industry. So, I jumped into the corporate world to earn money and figure out what my next plan was. I was very lucky to be quite good at most things I put my hand to, so I worked myself up into the corporate world fairly quickly, becoming an IT Instructor among other things. Outside of the corporate world, I still played instruments, sung in bands and did musical theatre. I’d always had the travel but and really wanted to live in Asia. So, I moved across the planet to Hong Kong, to teach music and English. This was a turning point for me. It’s when I realised I loved teaching the creative arts as much as I loved to do them. When I finally made it to the USA in 2011, after marrying an American guy, I started looking for my creative outlet. I soon found a lady who was teaching Voiceover. I’d never really heard of it, so I went along to investigate. As soon as I entered the booth and read from my first book into a microphone, I was hooked and knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. It really was the next step for me. It brought in all the skills I’d grew up with and the love of music, acting and creativity in general, all into one. I now get to teach voiceover, which, as I mentioned, is a huge love of mine and I get to search for wonderful talent out there, to help my clients. It’s a win win.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve been a full-time voice actor for well over a decade and I came across VO whilst I was working at a veterinary clinic. I was looking for a singing coach, as I’ve always been musical and play several instruments. I found a lady called Melissa Moats in Las Vegas, where I was living at the time. She run a local voiceover meetup group from her home, (she was also a singer). I attended and I fell in love with voice acting from that moment on. Fast forward 12 years and here I am. I work out of my own professional studio in California, and I voice mainly non-broadcast narrations, corporate and explainer videos, elearning and the odd videogame and commercial thrown in. Because I’m originally from Wales in the UK and have lived all over the world, my best-selling point to my clients in the US, is my neutral international accent. Elearning particularly tend to go with the more British sounding accent for some reason lol. About 6yrs ago, I started coaching voiceover in Vegas at The Voice Actors Studio, which I absolutely loved. I coached in nearly all genres, one on one coaching, as well as group classes. I’ve been a teacher in one capacity or another most of my working career, so this was the next logical step for me. 2yrs ago I moved to California and continued to coach, launching my own coaching arm of my voiceover business. My clients are vast and worldwide and I’m so lucky to have repeat clients, going back over ten years. One of my clients, an elearning company, used my voice on a regular basis and asked if I knew any other talent in the industry that they could add to their roster. That was 7 yrs ago. Since then, I’ve been a casting director for that company, not only to find talent, but to direct them on live sessions for projects. Right now, I’m embarking on another area of voiceover, Audio Description, which is a growing part of the VO industry for the blind and sight impaired and I’m enjoying every minute of it.
One of the things I’m most proud of is the way I market my business. I take a very personal approach to getting to know all my possible new clients as much as I can before getting in touch. I always want to be sure that I can help my clients with their VO goals. Whether that’s reaching an international market, localizing, or just bringing something different to their eLearning. I love to find out what they need before I jump right in. Connection is important to me as I know it is to my clients, so I always start there. I love to attend and present at voiceover conferences, and they are a lot of fun and a great way to meet casting directors and other VO talent. When you work in an industry where you tend to be alone a lot of the time, getting out to these events is great to keep in touch with fellow colleagues and of course, grow my client base. Some of the people I’ve met at these gatherings, have become some of my closest friends.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Great question, I think, for me…it’s that every day is different. I’ve always been a creative, from being a musician since the age of 9, musical theatre, ceramnic artist and I tend to get bored quite easily once I “believe” I’ve mastered something. The world of creativity is such that you never stop creating. It may be in a different way, but it’s truly endless. My career as a voice actor is vast and fun and the rewards are that I never really know what’s coming, which keeps it exciting for me. Plus, having your own schedule is pretty darn nice too….lol
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
There are so many resources out there, that when I started my business, I was at a loss of where to start to be honest. So, I went with that resinated with me, not what everyone else was doing. That’s sometimes hard when you are a creative. Everyone has something to say about what you should or should not be doing. I obviously did listen to advice, but I didn’t just do all of it…I was picky. Some of the resources that helped me, not just run my business, but kept me sane were the following:
What to say when you talk to your yourself – by Shad Helmstetter. This helped me with better habit forming. Going from Corporate to entrepeneur was quite a large learning curve, so I had to make some changes within to help me with that. This book was pivotal and I still go back to it, time and time again.
Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss – Negotiating as if your life depended on it. I loved this book. Amazing resource to help not just to negotiate within business, but life in general
Right-Brain Business Plan – Jennifer Lee. This really helped me get a handle on goal setting and keeping my business on track. I’m a creative through and through, so this is a very creative and artistic way of teaching something that’s usually quite left-brain boredom stuff
Making Money in your PJ’s – Paul Strikwerda – I love Paul’s book. I’ve ready many many books on voiceover and watched tons of videos etc over the years. This one resinated with me the most. His very open and blunt way of teaching this industry was refreshing and I still go back to it.
You are a Badass – Jen Sincero – This book was hilarious, hard-hitting and very helpful. Mainly to keep my mind in the right positive mindset, which I think is cruicial in our industry as there is a lot of rejection as a creative. Jen Sincero is great at shining the light on women in business. Great writer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shelleyavellino.com and www.internationalvocoach.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shelleyavellino/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelley.avellino
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelleyavellino/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShelleyVOGirl
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvxUrzsvLP8ORNv51UQO-ljcEtPux5yk9