We recently connected with Victoria Hines and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Victoria thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

We should empower every student who goes into a creative field to define their own version of success.

We should give them the tools and training to guide them towards a financially paying job that will help them leverage their strengths while they also pursue their art.

We should recognize that every student is different and no path they follow will ever look the same.

I graduated with a BFA in Drama as an acting major and my experience unfortunately looked nothing like the above.

I was told what the golden pathway looked like to be successful as an actor.

I was told that I would probably have to get a job in the restaurant industry or with a temp agency to pay the bills.

I was told that in order to succeed I needed to do the same thing that every generation of BFA actors had done before me – move to Chicago, LA or NY and get an agent.

Unfortunately I missed out on leveraging all of the incredible strengths and passions that made me unique. I spent years chasing the golden pathway of success only to realize that working as a server was unsustainable for me, I loved immersive theater and yet those were not the connections I was trying to make out of college. I also now recognize that if I had capitalized earlier on my natural strengths, I would probably have a much larger retirement fund today.

Victoria, 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’m Victoria Hines and my first artistic chapter was as an actor.

I fell in love with acting after seeing musicals every summer with my grandmother in a small, old-Texas-square theater. After overcoming Stage 5 cancer as a teenager, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life, so I went to college for acting.

What I quickly discovered was that my perfectionism told me that the only way to be successful in my career was by following the rules, but as a result, I walked further and further away from the life I wanted and the projects I actually enjoyed. After spending 10 years wearing many hats as an actor, producer, arts administrator, bartender, server, and fundraiser, I hit complete burnout in both my acting career and day job and quickly realized something needed to change.

It was only after stepping away from my childhood dream that I discovered my gift for coaching and entrepreneurship. With the goal of helping other creatives step into their own uniqueness and avoid following a similar path to burnout, I started working with creatives from all backgrounds: artists, designers, writers, performers, video game designers… you name it.

I deeply believe in changing the narrative for creatives that in order to succeed you have to sacrifice everything for the work. Yes I’m a career coach but the heart of my mission is truly to help every artist find their own path and build a strategy to go after their dreams.

I now work 1:1 with individual artists on top of a day job I enjoy and in my free-time host The Empowered Creatives Podcast: Finding Confidence Between Hustle and Burnout.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My life is nothing but full of pivots! One of the biggest ones most recently was moving into a full-time position at the tech company I work for.

I had launched my business a year prior but still wasn’t making enough money to fully support myself. After stepping away from acting, I vowed that never again would I always put my life on the back burner for my career. About a year and a half after launching, I felt like I was venturing back down that treacherous path.

I was terrified of everything I’d be giving up to spend more time focused on a full time job (mainly the time and flexibility), but I was also excited by the possibility. In the end, I wanted the financial oxygen – both for my business and to really start building the life that I wanted.

It wasn’t an easy decision and it can still be difficult balancing the two. But ultimately I know it was the right decision for that point in my life and career.

What has become key about also running a business is making sure everything I do in the business fills me with joy.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Early on in forming my business I did a values exercise. I defined the 2 core values that are intrinsic to my business: honesty and compassion.

Every time and every where I show up I lead with these values. I deeply care about the clients and people I interact with and the best way I can help them is to always be honest and considerate of who they are and where they come from.

I think this is also what has made me a good host and coach – I’m very good at holding space for others. Showing up in this way each and every day has helped me build the trust I need with both long time collaborators and clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.victoriahines.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevictoriahines/
• Other: The Empowered Creatives Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-empowered-creatives/id1619558068

Image Credits
Candids by Corinne