Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jamie Muffett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jamie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

When I think back on my journey to where I am now, I know for sure that in an ideal world I could have made it less painful, and certainly a little quicker. But realistically speaking, there was no way for me to know in advance where my strengths lie, how that intersected with my passions, and how both of those things fit into an ever changing marketplace. The only practical way to figure that out is to throw things at the wall to see what sticks.

That’s not to say that it should be done haphazardly. If it’s done in a thoughtless way it’s almost impossible to draw helpful conclusions. I teach voiceover and big part of what I instill in my students, is the constant need to be vigilant – to spot what works and what doesn’t, and to not assume that what works today will be the case in 5 years time.

When you know what you want to invest your time into, you can then start the real work of developing those skills to the best of your abilities. Skill + passion + experience is a great starting point, but there are lots of people who hit that point and get stuck.

For me, I had to go through this process to develop the confidence to stick to my guns on what I think is right for me, what I think I can bring to a project, not just reacting to what I think a client wants, and being comfortable saying no to things that aren’t a good fit. This is why I feel that privileged people have a huge advantage, they can afford to be bold from day one, which is hugely beneficial when it comes to bringing a unique perspective, and a reassuring self-confidence when working with or for people.

Jamie, 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 am a voice actor and podcast producer, originally from the UK. I moved to America in 2009 with my wife Katie.

I started my voiceover journey as an audio engineer in recording studios, and as the music industry changed (imploded) I saw the writing on the wall and switched gears, putting more and more of my energy into voiceover. I finally severed ties with music in 2016.

My voice can be heard in television commercials, video games, documentaries, training videos, planes, trains and all manner of weird and wonderful places. I love the variety of this kind of work, and of course the ability to record from my own studio in my house.

I have also had the immense pleasure of combining my love of audio production, mixing, and voiceover by producing podcasts. Most notably ‘In The Envelope’ from Backstage Magazine.

This has been an extraordinary opportunity to meet some incredible people (Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, Sir Patrick Stewart, Hugh Grant, Reese Witherspoon etc…) , and is an area that I am expanding into with a new company focused on producing podcasts in the entertainment industry space – RPS Audio.

I am also co-chair of VOcation, a conference devoted to the business of voiceover. We hold in-person and virtual events throughout the year, and I’m incredibly proud of the community we’ve built over the past 5 years.

I have just launched a new podcast called ‘Soundstage Insider’. It’s focused on the off screen talent in the film and television industry. Directors, producers, writers, editors, sound designers and more. So far I’ve interviewed fascinating people from The Mandalorian, Only Murders In The Building, Ted Lasso, Bridgerton, Black Panther, and others… I may be a little biased, but I think it’s a fascinating insight into how these productions get made.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I feel the same about online networking as I do in-person networking, and that is, intend to give rather than receive,

I am a naturally introverted person and a few years ago I decided that I was wasting the privileged opportunity to live in New York City, by not meeting enough creative people. So for a year I went to multiple networking events each week. Some were more creative, some were more businessey (is that a word?), but whatever they were I would show up on my own and walk into a room full of strangers.

This was horrifying for the first 10-20 times, but it didn’t take too long before I started to figure out what I was doing. Firstly, I gave myself permission to walk in the door, not like what I see, and just leave. If I didn’t leave, my goal was to meet one or two nice people, and make a connection. It doesn’t matter what they did. Then I could leave. I rarely stayed longer than 1 hour.

These rules allowed me to relax, not force a connection, not try to sell myself to anyone, and just have a good time. I met so many cool people, and even more people that taught me what bad networking was.

You can never run out of things to say if you’re genuinely interested in the person you’re speaking with. If there’s something you can do to help them, do it. Be that an introduction to someone, sharing of some knowledge, or something else…

When I left NYC I took the things that I learned at these events and applied them to the online world, and low and behold it’s the same there too.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

For an overthinker/catastrophizor like myself, ‘Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff (and it’s all small stuff)’ by Richard Carlson, is a book that I’ve read maybe 8 times. It’s really fantastic at putting things into perspective.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jamiemuffettvo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamiemuffett/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jamiemuffettnyc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiemuffett/
• Other: My new podcast production company: https://www.rps-audio.com/