We were lucky to catch up with Brad Hyland recently and have shared our conversation below.

Brad, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Every business success, no matter what it is… Will point to a few key factors that lead to that success. But I think the most important one is loving what you do, and having a burning passion to succeed. Running your own voice over business is no different than any other business… There are many many hats to wear in addition to being a creative.

A successful Voice Over entrepreneur will have to be able to market and grow the business, track costs, manage a customer base, invoice and collect funds properly and in a timely manner…. and always be the kind of person that voice buyers want to have representing their brand.

Having a burning passion for the craft, and all of the moving parts, is what drives me through the low points and the difficult days.

Being an entrepreneur running a business by yourself, means that you own every part of your business, the good and the bad and there is no one else to help carry your load.

Having that burning passion for what voice acting is all about is what keeps me going.

Brad, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My voiceover company is AmericanVoicePower LLC. My tagline for my business website and all my social medias is “The most versatile voice from coast to coast” I provide thoughtful and creative voiceover projects to all kinds of voice buyers all around the world. Anywhere you hear a voice that teaches, sells, educates, directs, or entertains you… And you don’t see the person creating that voice?….Is voiceover. Think of how many hours in a day you listen to ads on your car radio, or ads on television or streaming media of any kind… All those ads are voiced by people like me.

Or… anytime you go to an amusement park anywhere anywhere in the world and you hear a voice from a speaker telling you to “please keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times” …that’s voiceover. Or every voice you hear at a kiosk that helps you understand what to do next, is a voiceover actor…. Even if that voice was created by AI, the original voice for that recording was created by a voice actor.

The bulk of my business is non broadcast corporate narration style voiceover work.

Website videos, YouTube and pre-roll videos, voice messaging, film narration… Voicing historic/educational films of any kind for national parks and landmarks is one of my favorite things to do. I voice visitor center films at Craters Of The Moon national park in Idaho, and the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota, and many others.

My most recognizable project is that I am the official voice of Santa Claus for the huge Christmas brand Elf On The Shelf. My voice can be heard on several animated Christmas specials currently on Netflix. (Saint Bernards save Christmas and The Reindeer Rescue)

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

All voice actors know that it’s a continuous hustle and grind to keep the work in front of you… And there are many highs and lows in the process. Having a burning passion and also “thick skin” to get through adversity is very important.

A couple years ago I landed a fantastic job to be the voice of Prestone coolants. I was the voice in a really fun summer commercial… And I was told at that time that I was going to be “the voice” for Prestone and that I had the fall and winter anthem campaigns coming up very soon. Very exciting stuff for any voice actor!

Two days before the recording session for the fall anthem, I was called by an assistant at the production company and told that they did not need me anymore. Shocked and sad would be complete understatements about how I felt. However, this happens all the time in our industry. I tried to have them tell me why, and they simply said “there’s a new creative leader, and he has a voice he likes better than yours, so we’re not gonna need you” This was pretty devastating to me, but also lead to my most important lesson and voiceover business.

If you lose a job, or don’t win a certain job… It’s not always because you weren’t good enough, it’s simply because they had a voice they wanted that they liked better than yours. My mentor and trusted friend, J. Michael Collins, told me something that I remember every day still… he said, ” it’s not that you weren’t any good, or that your voice was bad in anyway… it’s just that They wanted salmon and you were a steak “… I laughed out loud when he told me that, but it was so true. He also told me that he loses big customers all the time, and he just goes out the next day and find another one.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

No matter what businesses are in, people want to hire and work with people that they trust, like and enjoy. I always find a way to connect with my customers in a personal and genuine way and make them feel like they are my only customer. If you always treat your customers and peers the way you would like to be treated, people will recognize that and come back to you time and time again.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.americanvoicepower.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hearbradhyland/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradhyland/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HearBradHyland
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2xfu6Z1B7TQWV8eDsxFptQ