Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Falanga

Hi Michelle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

I began as an Actor….many many years ago in 1996 – which happened by accident. A few years into my Acting Career, I decided to delve into Voice Over. I performed every weekend in improv shows, did commercial work from time to time and some local theater productions as well as a handful of Voice Over gigs and I did these BOTH on the side of a full time job until in 2013 when I was laid off from that job. I decided to take the leap of faith (with encouragement from my husband) and go all in with a Voice Over Career full time. The last 11 years have been a whirlwind of incredible experiences and amazing jobs as well as the challenges and uncertainty of growing and fostering your own business and being a self employed Voice Talent. I have achieved things I only dreamed of…I won two Emmy’s and a Telly for my voice work. I have heard my voice fill a stadium… I have been able to work on so many projects that inspired, empowered and made people feel something… I always say, I can do a lot with my voice…but connection and authenticity (and often goosebumps) is my wheelhouse and my favorite type of project to work on.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Growing a business is never a smooth road and I tell people who reach out to become a Voice Artist this all the time. It is a lot of work and patience and more work. When I went full time in 2013, I had to learn this very quickly and it took 5 years to earn what I was earning as a Manager in my previous full time job….5 years….but I did it and then after that it grew much further than I could have imagined and I achieved things I never thought possible…. but even today, even with all the success…it is still a challenge sometimes to travel the ebbs and flows of being a self employed person…it is still lots of work every single day….but it is my favorite job in the world and all that I ever want to do.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I know there are so many talented people out there and this career is filled with so much competition…. which is hard… I believe my strength or why I book certain jobs is simply, the ability to CONNECT to a script with authenticity. I also have a voice that for some reason books a lot internationally…I think having NO regional accent and a certain edge/texture to my voice seems to work for those projects. I also have had the honor of voicing many live drum shows in stadiums…which is such a cool genre of voice acting that is not really mainstream, but to hear your voice fill a stadium and see people in the audience moved by the show….it really fills my soul. I am also proud to be a published children’s book author – my book..THE AMAZING MONSTER touches on bullying…but it is really about being true to who you are, kindness and acceptance, which we could all use more of. It is on Amazon. I also use my voice as a Certified Meditation Teacher on Insight Timer (which is a free meditation app). I have some meditations uploaded there and get such beautiful reviews and feedback and it feels nice to be able to help someone in a small way using my voice.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?

I guess just to put what you need help with out there (on a relevant board or group) people generally want to help if they can… I had help and mentors and I pay that forward. I also have an accountability Buddy…which is so helpful to ride the ebbs and flows together. As far as Marketing, I still struggle with that…always have. I get more leads when people hear my voice and they reach out….so its just a matter of having more people stumble upon my work…that is what I am trying to get better at. I have a huge portfolio of some of my work on my vimeo portfolio and my YouTube portfolio – michellefalangavoice

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.michellefalanga.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellefalangavoice/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@michellefalangavoice
• Other: https://www.vimeo.com/michellefalangavoice

Image Credits

Katie Dwyer Photography