Hello! Welcome to The Actor CEO Podcast. I’m Mike Moreno. I’m an actor in New York City and I want to thank you for joining me on this journey. Our goal is to understand how much an acting career is like running your own business, and using the insights we learn to create our own success.

I say we because I am no guru here and consider myself a working actor looking to learn the skills that are so essential to creating a long lasting, fulfilling acting career.

I decided to start this podcast because I was seeking out this information from my network and the connections I would make in the business. I’ve earned a BFA and an MFA, but I almost never heard any practical actionable advice on how to place myself in the industry and what to do to make sure I was not wasting my time or resources. The common understanding was “just hustle till you make it.” Man, that’s exhausting and not really practical. I would see good actors around me burn out and move on to other lives, because they did not feel like their efforts meant anything. They had no idea why things weren’t working. I have felt this way countless times. But when talking to others who are a few steps ahead of me I heard a consistent theme coming from successful professionals, You are an actor AND a business and you need to treat your career like a business so you can control the things you can, and forget about the things you can’t. Once you look at your acting in that light, you begin to have sharper focus, more commitment, and feel more professional about what you do. No one, not your agent or manager are going to do that for you. They are part of the business but it starts with you. You’re the CEO.

So since I was seeking out this advice and insight already and it was proving to be so true, I thought I would share these conversations with other actors who were asking the same questions. I would have been so happy to have this sort of “mentor on demand” when I started out and now I’m glad to invite you and so many others on this journey of learning, exploration and dedication. Together we can learn the skills that make a more successful actor by taking control of yourself as a brilliant, creative business and becoming a rockstar CEO of that business. Join me in becoming an Actor CEO.