We were lucky to catch up with Erin Mead recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Erin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Starting a voiceover career and presenting myself online through my website and social media has forced me to confront my insecurities and keep going even when it’s hard to be vulnerable. It feels risky because I must sell my authentic self to my target clients, while spending precious time and resources to build my business behind the scenes, but I have received lots of positive feedback and support so far and it hasn’t been as scary as I thought it would be. Of course imposter syndrome likes to make an appearance along the way when I least expect it! Learning to ignore the negative voice in my head, while seeking honest feedback through colleagues and coaches has helped tame the struggle, but it will always be part of the ups and downs of running a business and life in general. Having such an amazing community of kind-hearted voice actors has made the struggles easier to handle and a lot more fun! I started this journey of voiceover after spending time reflecting, growing, and working on my self-development, so I thought I was ready to be vulnerable and express my creativity in a new and powerful way. Little did I know that my self-discovery journey was only beginning when I started this business! Starting a business whose brand is your identity feels like the biggest risk there is, but I’m grateful I found this path and can’t wait to see what the future holds!

Erin, 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?

I play many roles in life, including mom, partner, daughter, sister, nurse, medical device rep, entrepreneur, and voice actor! I grew up in the Dallas area as a shy girl with big eyes and a lisp that made me better at listening than speaking. As a curious and creative adult, I love learning and connecting with others by listening to their stories and finding common ground. There’s nothing better than connecting with great conversation with friends over niche topics that we’ve learned through reading or listening to podcasts and audiobooks on related topics. I also enjoy making personalized, handmade cards and crafts for close friends and family in my free time. The process of turning scraps of paper into something beautiful and meaningful gives me joy. I also love nature because it revitalizes my sense of creativity with its boundless beauty and complex connection to human life. There is nothing more amazing than digging my fingers into soil to garden and cultivating seeds into living food or feeling the breeze on my face during a walk by the lake during sunset. Being outdoors regularly is grounding and essential to my wellbeing. My yearning for nature and reflection has led to a deep self-discovery journey over the last few years that has opened up a new quiet confidence and power within. I have learned to lean into my strengths more than ever and embrace my imperfections as a welcome part of my story. I am working toward a life of freedom from fear and worry, towards a future of play and presence. My relatively new journey as a voice actor is only the beginning of my powerful journey of connection to myself and others.

I got into voiceover because I was looking for an opportunity to use my creativity in an entrepreneurial adventure. As with many things in life, sometimes things come your way when you need them the most, and that was the case with VO. It is the perfect combination of a flexible schedule, an expression of creativity that I crave, a collaborative outlet for storytelling, and an opportunity to play, balanced with extremely hard work and persistence. Each of us has a unique voice fingerprint that can shape a story through emotion and connection. I add my unique point of view to each voiceover script, which sets me apart from all of the other voices because my life experiences are unique to me. I am a nurse and a mom and have a high level of empathy and a non-judgmental understanding of different types of people and their circumstances. In commercial voiceover, that connection to the characters and audience is imperative because the spots are concisely scripted and must make an impression. Commercials allow for fun and play with bold choices and authenticity. Audiobooks (especially fiction) give me the time and space to let a story and its characters develop with nuance and complexity in the messiness of life. Medical narration gives me the chance to offer my experience and authority as an operating room nurse and medical device rep to teach and explain important health information when it matters most. As a nerd at heart, I love e-learning and nonfiction audiobooks because they give me permission to deep dive into new and old topics with curiosity and excitement. I’m proud of the work that I have accomplished, but know that it is only the beginning of my journey. My voiceover business is starting to blossom and I am enjoying every moment that I get to experience its growth. I’m grateful to the amazing community of voice actors that support each other, my coaches that help me hone the craft of acting, and VO friends that make the business of speaking into a microphone in a padded room feel less isolating!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I’m excited about the possibility of fair compensation that NFTs offer to artists and creatives. Especially in this digital age where AI threatens to take jobs, I think it is very important to be able to verify ownership of rights through the use of blockchain technology so that digital art, including audio files of voices, are not used without consent.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Society can best support creatives by purchasing human-produced art and paying fair market rates. AI is very tempting to use (and has practical uses as a tool behind the scenes), but it is essentially a theft invention for plagiarism that doesn’t credit the original creators.

Contact Info:

• Website: ErinMead.com
• Instagram: ErinMeadVoiceActor
• Linkedin: ErinMeadVoiceActor
• Twitter: ErinMeadVA