We were lucky to catch up with Gloria Garayua recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gloria, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
I wanted to include the word “entertainment” in my business’ name in case I ever got into producing. “Gloshyne” came from a combination of my first name “Gloria” and my nickname in college “Sunshine”. So I named the business “Gloshyne Entertainment”. The “y” in “Gloshyne” was just me being “extra”! HAHA!
Gloria, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I work as an actress, acting teacher and acting coach. I help actors prepare for their auditions, and I also teach the craft of acting in weekly private lessons. If any of your readers would like to reach out to me for private coaching, I can be reached either through direct message on my Instagram which is @gloriagarayua or through my email address which is [email protected]. Speaking of my teaching, I developed an online video series for actors called “Acting For True Beginners”. If anyone out there is interested in learning acting but they are new and a bit intimidated to jump into a group acting class or to work with a coach, they can purchase this series and watch it from the comfort of their own homes. The series will teach them the basics and fundamentals of acting vocabulary that they will hear consistently in any acting class. This series should help them feel confident and ready to jump in class but it most certainly should not replace the class. This is because in an acting class, you have the element of performance in front of an audience which is imperative for growth. So whether people come to me or go to another coach or jump in an acting class, I hope that “Acting For True Beginners” makes them feel more prepared and empowered.
If your readers are interested they can go to my website which is www.gloriagarayua.com. They would click on “Online Video Series”, and purchase from there. I have priced it at a very inexpensive $29.99 a month. This is a subscription course. They must keep the initial email because through that they will be able to cancel once they feel they are finished with the course. At this price point it is my hope that people hang onto it as long as they need. Even if one month slips by and they couldn’t get around to learning from the videos, this price point will not break the bank. They can simply carry-onwards until they have a little more flexibility in their schedule.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
My side hustle was always private coaching and teaching. It started with one job teaching acting to a group of elementary and middle students on the weekends. Before you knew it, I was teaching at three studios a week. One of those studios asked me to direct their showcases for kids to get agents and managers. Those kids’ parents eventually hired me for private coaching on their professional auditions. Hence how my private coaching business grew! Before I realized it, word spread that I was good, and I was getting requests so often that coaching became a part time job without me trying. A few years before the pandemic, I was practically working full time as a teacher and coach. I am grateful for that now as I recall that it was teaching that kept me sane while stuck at home during the enforced quarantine, which seemed to go on and on. Milestones for me where those sweet moments when a student I coached for specific jobs booked those jobs. I never take credit for it. I see it as a community effort. Yes, it could have been my coaching, but it could also have been the hundreds of acting classes and workshops and teachers that that student had before me, plus the strong efforts of that individual. I never like it when my coaches take credit for my bookings. Half the time, I saw them once. Meanwhile, I’ve been chipping away at my training for years. Another milestone for me as a coach is when someone I taught as a kid, graduates high school! I am just three years away from seeing one of my previous private students graduate college! That will be a first for me!
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
All non-creatives in my life have a few things in common: They wonder how I can stand not having a set regimented schedule, how I can stand not knowing where my next paycheck is coming from, and how I can audition as much as I do without getting paid. Trust me, it’s not always easy, especially as I get older. But, at the end of most days, I am so grateful for all the things I got to do during my day that I would not have been able to do if I worked for someone else. For example, I love the variety that each day brings. I also have made peace with not knowing when my next paycheck is coming because I know that when I do make money, the sum is usually big enough to make up for all the time I didn’t get paid. And I look at auditions as an opportunity. Therefore, no time is wasted.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gloriagarayua.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gloriagarayua/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gloria.garayua
- Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/gloriagarayua/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1872697/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Image Credits
Robyn VonSwank and Stephanie Girard