Episode 54: Molly Mahoney The Prepared Performer

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Molly Mahoney and myself both went to Chapman University and earned our BFAs in performance. As most actors know, once you start working on making your living as an actor you realize that having other sources of income help level out the times when you’re not making money being the amazing artist you are. Many of us end up working flexible jobs like waiting tables, temp jobs, or babysitting.

Molly aimed to change that paradigm for herself. She found that when she shared her skills on social media, so many people outside of the industry loved her confidence in front of the camera and an audience and wanted to capture that same confidence for themselves. Any good performer knows to say yes to opportunities, so she did – and she’s built a thriving business from there.

Now Molly continues to teach camera confidence to entrepreneurs, but also does speaking gigs and holds courses online teaching everything from mastering your social media presence to building a loyal following through authentic communication with your online audience. And guess what, SHE STILL PERFORMS!

So don’t get stuck in this mindset that if you are not ACTING RIGHT NOW THIS VERY MINUTE then you’re not a “real” actor. Your career is sailing the ocean of opportunity and there will be highs and lows, sometimes even storms that seem like they are going to sink all your prospects, but guess what? You don’t have to have just one ship at sea. Build your acting galleon and make it the best it can be, but don’t forget you can ship off smaller boats that find opportunities for you when the galleon is waiting for the trade winds to pick up. Diversifying your skill set and finding ways of turning what your already know into a service or skill you get paid for is what takes you from being a “make it or bust” actor to being an entrepreneurial artist building a sustainable career.