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

Tim, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Well……..that takes me back to a time of uncertainty……also known as COVID 19.

In January of 2020, I was not doing the best in terms of my mental health and work-life balance. I was putting in at least 60 hour work weeks and wasn’t checking in with myself. I had planned on taking a one month break from my day job and just kind of….recalibrate.

Luckily, this global pandemic business happened and I ended up getting the break/relief I needed. My job overnight turned into a work from home situation…….and it was like a 2 ton weight was lifted of my shoulders. During this time of “workin from home”, there wasn’t much going on but I was salary so I stayed at my computer and went through the motions while the leaders of the world battled covid.

Since I had some time to recalibrate and ground myself, I revisited my love of storytelling! I watched my favorite movies and played my favorite video games much more than I had previously. Immersing myself back into my passions/hobbies made me realize that Art is what really makes me feel alive. So…..I took the first steps towards pursuing Voice Over via listening to podcasts. Crispin Freeman’s Voice Acting Mastery was JUST what I needed. It discussed how to get into VO and what challenges one would face…..everything from how competitive this field is to being able to handle rejections to ensuring that VO was an “Obsession” as that is the way to make this a career.

Feeling confident that this was doable for long term…..I took the plunge! I started taking lessons with Kalmenson & Kalmenson to dip my toe in the water. I LOVED IT! I felt that palpable excitement and wonder like when I was a kid bored out of my mind during family vacations…..just making up stories in my head while listening to my Sony Discman (No Internet back then.)

After those first few coaching sessions, I KNEW this was for ME!

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?

So….I grew up in Nebraska, went to college at the University of Nebraska Omaha, and even found my wife and got married. I majored in Construction Management and put in about 8 years in this industry while in Omaha. My wife and I visited San Diego on vacation one year…..and that was all I needed to see. I knew that I HAD to figure out how to move to California. After searching for new jobs and opportunities, I found a great paying subcontracting role with a roofing company in Reno, NV. Driving across the United States and leaving home like that was a little intimidating…..but I had this feeling that it was all going to work out.

Reno, NV was an awesome to place to work and live with my wife and two dogs (Reggie and Oscar)……until 2020. By this time I was feeling burned out completely since I was putting in 60 hour weeks and not paying attention to my mental health/work-life balance. Luckily, the pandemic hit and I was given a much needed break by working from home. This is exactly what I needed and ALSO when I started pursuing voice over! Listening to podcasts about the industry and chatting with working pros via email was soooo helpful. What I learned was that Voice over is an incredibly competitive industry with A LOT of very talented artists already established.

Feeling confident that this was doable for long term…..I took the plunge! I started taking lessons with Kalmenson & Kalmenson to dip my toe in the water. I LOVED IT! I felt that palpable excitement and wonder like when I was a kid bored out of my mind during family vacations…..just making up stories in my head while listening to my Sony Discman (No Internet back then.) My next stop on my Voice Over Journey was The Voice Actors Studio. THIS is where I really got my feet wet participating in workout sessions for all the VO genres (Commercials, E-learning, Promo, Audiobooks*, etc) and started to figure out where my style and voice landed. It turns out Audiobooks were my favorite and so I started focusing on coaching for this genre.

The REAL uptick in my coaching/ VO journey….was when I started coaching with Sean Pratt’s Ginger Yoda Dojo (Nonfiction Audiobooks). This course combines performance with business tools to create a course that shot me up from level 5 to around level 50! My artistry and game were sharpened incredibly and competitively. Now I’m booking audiobook pretty regularly!

My focus currently is on audiobook narration, e-learning narration, and am coaching on Automotive commercials as the next facet of the business.

My brand is described as “Relatable, Excited, and Confident: Your favorite teacher….with his own Spaceship.” These three words and phrase “typecast” myself and get to the heart of my style for casting directors and authors to get a feel for my style.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Sure thing. So….as I mentioned……this industry is HARD! At the end of the day it’s you yourself and I in your studio (Booth) trusting yourself and your instincts to authentically perform the manuscript in an Engaging, Enthusiastic, Educational, Entertaining, and Enlightening way. The only time you really interact with others is during a live session or a zoom session. Loneliness can be very challenging too. Thats NOT easy!

I’ll never forget those first 6 months of getting started….

You have to understand too that going from ZERO acting background to performing audiobooks requires coaching/training, time, practice, and patience. We as people all just ‘Want to be great!” right off the bat…….thats not practical or typical. The steep cost of entry (Equipment, studio building, coaching, time commitment) is staggering. Investing money into myself on something that’s no guaranteed is nerve racking haha. Getting started and staying the course was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life…..I’d honestly say it was harder than graduating from college.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Great question. Artists are not appreciated fully in our culture. For me, growing up in a conservative christian household in the midwest, Actors were viewed as impractical and they didn’t have a “Real job”. Your average person in this region is simply an honest hardworking regular kind of guy/gal.

The crazy part though is how much At impacts us on a daily basis. After a long day of work what do many people do to relax……YUP….they consume TV/movies/video games/etc. Guess what that means…..YUP……you’re enjoying Art.

if more people took this in account, I feel that artists, painters, musicians, performers, etc would get the credit they truly deserve. The bravery and BADASSNESS that artists put on display is inspiring and NEEDED in this crazy world of go go go make money and always gotta be hustling to pay the bills.

I feel more awareness is needed by the general public to understand the life of an artist. The self doubt, financial burden, the rejections, and all the obstacles that stand in their way are very challenging without other people talking out of their butt on things they simply havent experienced.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://timratliffvo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timratliff_vo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551932318810
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timratliffvo/