Working with your children transforms work-life balance into work-life integration. How to be your child’s boss as well as her parent? Here are some tips from a mother-daughter voiceover team.
A mother’s advice to parents:
Whose dream is it? Make sure doing what mom does is something your child has a genuine interest in pursuing. My daughter has always loved performing on stage so while certainly different in many respects, performing at the mic is something she enjoys as well.
Lead by example. Just as in parenting, our children are watching. KB Voiceovers is a business and I share that side of things with every one of her bookings. She experiences how I interact with our shared agents and clients. She oversaw the development of her website with me. She weighs in on our marketing efforts as well.
Let her go. She won the booking. Give her breathing room to do it. When my daughter books a session, I get her set up in our studio and then leave the room so she can work on her own with the director.
READ: Voiceover Session Do’s + Don’ts
A daughter’s advice to kids:
Have patience. Your mom is trying hard not to be too much “mom” when it comes to your work. Cut her some slack; she’s just trying to help. When mom keeps saying the same thing over and over again, I remind myself she’s just looking out for me and that it’s probably important.
Watch and Learn. She’s been doing this longer than you have, and she’s good at it. Who better to learn from? I’ve learned some great people skills from mom, like how to stay positive and be professional.
You do you. It’s important to give whatever you’re doing your own spin. You’re not a mini-me; you are you, so make sure to put your own personality into your delivery. When my agents send an audition, I do it mom’s way, then I voice it the way I think it should be voiced. We usually end up sending one of each.
Check out Backstage’s voiceover audition listings!
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and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.
