Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Des Meis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Des thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
As a child, I always gravitated towards the arts vs. academics or sports. (I did made the C team in middle school volleyball…) So when I was 6 I was in the church Christmas play, in middle school I was in our local Community Theatre, and I was in every school production in high school. However, I didn’t study theatre in college or pursue it professionally as a young adult because I saw it as something I did “on the side”, that acting is something I do as supplemental to what I “really should be doing”. Yet as I entered the professional world, while I had worthwhile experiences, I always had this ache in my heart to perform. To act. To tell stories with my voice and body and to be in community with those who have that ache as well. So in a way, I have always known that I have wanted to pursue the arts professionally, I just never knew HOW to integrate it into the life I had built. So when I was postpartum with my second baby, listening to audiobooks while I push a stroller, wondering who on earth am I listening to and loving the acting choices the narrator was making for the character…little did I know I was about to come face to face (or should I say ear to ear), with a way to integrate the arts into my life. I found a door to a path where I could pursue the arts in my everyday life and I not only opened it but knocked it down.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a voice over actor – which means I help a company, brand or person communicate their message to their customer or target listener through recorded audio. After I receive a script, I record 1-3 different takes in my professional home studio and send it off to the production company for any editing or mastering before broadcast or publishing. Once of the things I love the most about this job is it is so versatile! Just last week I recorded a narration for a pregnancy app, a segment for a podcast murder mystery audio drama and a commercial for a credit union. I also voice automotive commercials, explainer videos, youtube ads, e-learning courses and much more! I have acted on stage since I was 6, and pivoted to VO after having kiddos and it has been such a gift to be able to do this work while also raising my kids.
One of the things you may not realize is that voice actors are actually small business owners and wear many hats – and I have been surprised at how much I love running my own business. Having roles in admin support prior to VO has turned out to be helpful in navigating the business side of things, like client management, invoicing and marketing. I am proud of the business I have been able to build so far and take seriously the relationship with my clients and production companies, yet I am also a real person – I’m a mom who drives a minivan, reads Agatha Christie and bakes sourdough – and I think those elements shines through in working with others and makes the relationship more collaborative and welcoming.
My goal in working with anyone in this industry is to create something together in a collaborative way that you are proud of and that captures both the heart and ear of your target listener.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I loved Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks (Time Management For Mortals). Burkeman does a fantastic job of showing how we as Westerners specifically relate to time (something to manage, control, wrestle into submission) and offers an enlightening alternative that not only is more accurate (time is never something we will have 100% control over) but more liberating as a mom and small business owner.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Like the rest of world, we had to pivot significantly in early 2020. However, April – July of that year was particularly mind bending for us because in a period of 8 weeks, my husband switched to working remotely, I was home with our then 18 month old, we just had our first foster son move in and start doing school over zoom and I found out I was pregnant with #2. It was a WILD season. And it really taught us to take things one day (or hour) at a time and to figure out what the ONE next step is and do it. Then focus on the next step, and the next one. It was an isolating time for everyone, but I had to learn hour to make the biggest pivot in my mind and attitude first, before I was able to make successful pivots in my actions and words. While I do NOT want to do that year over again, I look back and am really thankful for the fruit it produced both internally in my spirit as well as in our family.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.VOwithdes.com
- Instagram: @_desreads
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vowithdes
