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

Liisa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar you earn in a new endeavor is always special. We’d love to hear about how you got your first client that wasn’t a friend or family.

Tell us the story of how you got your first client that wasn’t a friend/family/friend-of-a-friend/etc? The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue. Paint the picture for us so we understand how it happened and feel the same excitement you felt on that day.

My first clients, as well as my first jobs in the past have always happened by accident, or serendipity in unusual, fun circumstances, and yet always by being authentic and connecting or making friends with the business owner, executive, or agent or brand I wanted to work with.

I’ve never been the type of actor that got much work by the usual “tried and true” normal communication avenues or cold emailing. Sending out pictures and resumes with the cheerful but cleverly cloaked “hire me” message.
While that absolutely works and I’d never tell anyone to not do that, because outflow equals inflow, my path has most often been a more colorful route, and honestly, I rather love it that way.

My first break in musical theatre in NYC came at a stop light on 74rd and 3rd. Mom and I were crossing the street after classes, dance bag on my shoulder and the gent next to us overheard us talking about the American Dance Machine, where I was studying. He asked me, “Dance Machine… do you know the show West Side Story?” My answer was “Do I know it? I can dance it for you right here” That answer, and a bit more conversation, got me not just an audition during the principal call backs, but they asked me to go “to this address” and teach this gent how to mambo. That actor was a pal of the lead. He absolutely couldn’t learn to mambo, but the address was the lead’s apartment. That’s how I met Rex Smith, and ended up at the Tony Awards, on my first national tour of West Side Story, then subletting his apartment complete with his dog. But that’s a tale for another time.

My first client as a voice actor was because I was heard by a casting agent in a voiceover workshop.

My first food photography client booked me because I tagged a few companies in my work on Instagram and waited until they commented on it to strike up a genuine conversation, which led to an offer of work that continues today.

The through line in all of these is: Preparation, skills, luck, timing, a sense of play, and being authentic in communication.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Theater kids aren’t made, so much as we’re born this way.
I tell people I’m a dancer because it’s part of my heart beat. It’s not something I became as much as it’s something that’s always been in me, to remember,
instead of learn.
My mother was in New York City Ballet with Jacques D’Ambois and Maria Tallchief. One of my sisters was a broadway dancer, and company member of The American Dance Machine. I literally followed in their footsteps, from watching class and the smell of the rosin in ballet studios, loud with the ring of grand pianos, to sitting backstage and watching everyone put on costumes, makeup, hair spraying wigs and breaking in shoes, surrounded by opening night roses and notes on mirrors. Then apprenticing with The American Dance Machine at 13. So growing up, I simply stepped into that life and loved every minute of it.

I think theater life, my dad, and all my days at Disney (another story), helped hone my eye as a photographer. I’ve always been drawn to details and historic accuracy, refinement, and framing a tableau or a scene. Those Disney days, because of my father, who worked with Walt, also encouraged my love of food, like his own, and fine dining experiences, along with food adventures in New York City at an early age. Those were enchanted days of Good Enough To Eat biscuits and strawberry butter, magical pastries presented to me by a wondrous blonde waitress amid the brass and shining mahogany at Rumplemayer’s, the greenery, glass and fine linen of Tavern on the Green, blue hour under the spice perfumed, colorful tree lined streets of Curry Row, or the steam and bustle and blintzes and half sours and pastrami towers of Katz’s Deli. I’ve been asked to consult on desserts at village cafe’s and sold a cookie recipe to a now closed spot on the upper west side, to put cookies and milk on their dessert menu.

My voiceover coaching business started by the encouragement of a favorite VoiceOver coach and mentor who took me aside after a workshop and suggested I start a group to help actors. Soon after I was invited to a coaching platform to teach, and realized helping actors and directing was just as fulfilling as being behind the mic. I became a top ten coach there, and now coach on other platforms I love working with, and coach privately and in groups through my website.
Actors and coaches have described my teaching style as supportive and kind, yet honest and pragmatic. Another peer described my classes as very safe places and I always want actors to truly feel safe to reach farther in their work.
I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve all dealt with rotten teachers full of ego, or bullies, and I do my best to crush the cruel myth of
actors needing to “suffer for their art” to learn or excel. That awful idea can stay back in the ’80’s.
I prefer to cheer on effort, and focus and a sense of play while actors seriously put in the work.

The through line of this triple-hyphenate career is storytelling, and I think what I also want to shine through is authenticity in all I do.
Food photography clients often say they want to reach in and take a bite of my work. One recurring client calls me “the queen of cozy.”
My voice acting feeds my theater kid heart, and I love being able to touch people in a range of ways with my work.
My coaching is an absolute thrill when I take actors from a good read, to carve out more truth and give an audience goosebumps with a great read.
I just give them room to be more themselves.
No flashy, constant, Maserati marketing here. Simply good coaching with career planning and goals in mind.
I love it so much.

What am I most proud of? That’s hard to answer. 3 things come to mind.
Helping my mother beat leukemia at the Mayo Clinic.
Revving up audiences with the magic thrill that is the slow build entrance, first from the wings, front center, to the Dance at the Gym in West Side Story.
And those moments of Gold when I give actors the safety and possibilities to reach farther within and create fantastic story moments in their acting.
In my own voice acting, there are many moments, but I’ll always remember fondly, the teamwork of the last ADR session I got to do with Brad Venable and a team of great folks at Bang Zoom. That camaraderie and all of us cheering each other on, especially applause and fun fist bumps from Brad was a favorite day.
We all miss you Brad.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I don’t know how long it took to come back to consciousness. I was gone in the blink of an eye.
First the horse got fidgety and prancy, then it swung back end towards me and Kicked me in the sternum.
I remember thinking, “Why I am moving backward. And what was that noise?” Then it was lights out.
Luckily I was standing so close to this young, headstrong gelding that he moved and launched me more than he hit or punched me with his hind leg.
So up I went, launched like a rag doll. Up and out and into the balmy September Saturday evening blue hour air.
A friend who happened to see this shocking scene, said I looked like I was floating on the cross. Eyes closed, arms out, sailing in the air.
He thought he was watching me die. He rushed in to help, grabbed my hand, and his was the first voice I heard as I slowly came back to reality like an old television set. A pinpoint of light that expanded as I came back to consciousness, my senses returning slowly, one after the other.
I was bruised and contused from larynx to pelvic bone, and swollen from internal organ bruising with a half horseshoe imprint just off center of my sternum.
The recovery was extremely long, two trips to the ER, with several dark daunting, set backs.
I didn’t sit up again for more than a month. The fatigue lingered for several years.
That was a “Sliding Doors” moment that changed my entire world.
I had been a stage manager, and in class at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. I retired from the Playhouse and concentrated on healing.
I pivoted from on-camera acting to voice acting, thinking I could sit or stand to work, and still feed my theater kid soul.

So, when I say that I’ve been killed by a horse, but I got better, I’m not kidding.

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

Be You! Be Honestly You.
It’s never been more true than right now in the new and ever-changing landscape of social media.
I built my audience by
1. Being myself and being a good guest at the party. I lead with authenticity and real organic engagement, meaning I’m interested in meeting people, or having fun with brands I genuinely enjoy and want to work with.
2. Following the algorithm and the rules the different platforms “set” for their users to gain reach and engagement, and adjust when it changes, because it often seems to.
3. Keep on top of consistency as well as the ever changing (frustratingly so) parameters, growth strategies, whacky rules as well as organic trends, which can be fun, and sometimes maddening, for different platforms.

Seeing different platforms change, and evolve can be really fascinating as well as frustrating. I love watching platform personalities organically emerge, but hate it when those platforms try and step in to shoe-horn new ways they demand we all use to gain our reach back, without any real benefit other than trying to force content creators to stay on the platform longer. Instagram is a prime example of this, while TikTok is a gorgeous example of truly showcasing the best in people, uplifting us all with knowledge, fun, real engagement of it’s users and supportive communities that grow from good help. That said, it’s also keenly important to curate your feed to keep out the trolls, bots, lurkers and red flag behaviors.
(As always, be careful and curate your feed safely. There are dangers on all platforms)

For all platforms as well as for all businesses, my biggest take away is still, stay honest to yourself, show real interest in brands you want to interact with, stay aware of organic trends and do them the way You see fit, stay consistent, show up, and as always, be a good guest at the party.
I love teaching folks how to do this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.liisaleevo.com/coaching
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liisalee/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiisaLee
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liisalee
• Twitter: https://x.com/Liisabelle
• Other: My Food photography site: https://www.sugarstudiosinc.com

Image Credits

Liisa Lee