We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Heather Nichols a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Heather, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
No matter how long I’m in this business, sometimes I (like many others) suffer from imposter syndrome. I certainly did when I first started teaching voiceover, wondering “who am I to teach others when I still have so much to learn?” But with some encouragement from several people in my life, I started mapping out what I would discuss in a class setting, I quickly realized I knew more than I realized!
This is also true from a performer standpoint. When I was mainly working as an on camera actress, I would be so prepared and confident walking into an audition, only to see a room full of other actresses who were… fill in the blank (taller, prettier, more successful) than me (at least in my mind). When I encounter this feeling, my motto is fake it till you make it! Just acting like I’m confident can help me to actually become more confident.
Another way I combat imposter syndrome is to remember all the work I have put in to get to where I am. I have been working toward this career my entire life with classes, training in various areas, reading as much as I can, and connecting with others in the industry to share experiences and advice. Putting in the work helps me have confidence in my abilities, and helps me to not have imposter syndrome.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Growing up in West Virginia, I always knew I wanted to be a professional actress. I participated in every available activity that I thought would help prepare me to accomplish this: local theater, singing lessons, dance classes, beauty pageants, etc.
My journey to becoming a full-time voice actor was definitely not a straight line. When I first moved to LA, I was primarily pursuing on camera acting, but interestingly, voiceover opportunities kept popping up, and I became the voice of a doll company for 7 years, voicing hundreds of TV, radio, and online ads for them. Although I wasn’t focusing on that area, I truly did love it. After a bit of a detour in which I became head of marketing for a major event producer for 4 years, I decided I wanted to go all in on VO, and make it my main career focus.
Likely due to my experiences in the corporate marketing world, the first areas of traction I could see in my VO business were in corporate narration and e=learning projects. I feel like my background on the business side helps me communicate these messages in the most authentic way as a narrator. The bulk of my business currently is corporate narration, e-learning, audiobooks, commercials, and dubbing, but I have also worked on several animated projects. It will never get old hearing my voice come out of an animated character!
Some areas I feel set me apart from the many other talented voice actors are my understanding of the business side of having a voiceover business, my editing / sound production quality, and versatility as a performer. I am passionate about bringing my clients’ messages, stories, and visions to life in an authentic and professional manner. I am so grateful every time a client trusts me to so with their project.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three areas of knowledge I feel have been most impactful in my journey to becoming a full-time voice actor are understanding the business of voiceover, learning how to edit my audio efficiently, and diversifying my business.
When getting into voice acting, many actors focus only on the performance aspect, and forget about the business side. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t know how to market your skills and services to those who could hire you, it doesn’t matter. Unless a job is booked through an agent or manager, we are required to handle all aspects of a business transaction ourselves. These could include invoicing, accepting payments, providing tax documents, etc. Having all your business elements in place prior to marketing your services will ensure you provide the best possible service to your clients.
Audio editing and engineering is an area I wish I had learned more about sooner in my career. In today’s business, we are not only the talent and CEO of our business, but also we are often tasked with editing and engineering our own audio as well. Knowing how to achieve high-quality audio output from your home studio is not only appreciated at this point, it is expected.
Diversification is something I feel some voice actors overlook in the hopes of succeeding in one specific area. There is nothing wrong with putting a great deal of focus on working in your dream genre (i.e. animation or video games), but putting all your eggs in one or two baskets could be doing you a disservice in terms of creating a sustainable and somewhat more controllable voiceover business.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
As a voice actor, I am always looking for new clients to work with and help bring their stories to life. My ideal clients are creatively focused, and working to convey a message or story in an authentic way. I love a collaborative environment where we can work together to put forth the best product, no matter if it’s an audiobook, commercial, or corporate on-boarding program. However, if a client prefers a more hands-off experience, I am confident in providing a top-quality product independently.
As a voiceover coach, I am always happy to connect with other voice actors who are looking to start or grow their own businesses. Whenever I can put to use all my years of trials and tribulations in the industry to help others avoid similar struggles or pitfalls, it brings me so much joy!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.heathernicholsvoiceover.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/HeatherNicholsVO
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathernicholsofficial
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathernicholsvo/
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/heathernichols
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watchheathernichols
Image Credits
Stephanie Girard
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