Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Doman
Hi Laura, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m a Corporate turned Creative.
While my early years were certainly creative enough – acting in school productions, writing stories, crafting art projects – my first career was in high tech development and sales. Performing was in my blood, but so was business. I saw every sales call as an audition, every deal that closed a booking – but with much better pay! I enjoyed working with leading-edge technology, especially hammering out deals with executives in many different industries, presenting at conferences, and traveling widely.
So how did I transition 180 degrees from IT sales to acting in movies, TV, commercials, and voice overs? It’s certainly not a natural career progression, and one that I’m asked about quite often.
The turning point came during my years as a stay-at-home mom after 16 years in the corporate world. Focusing on my kids and family vs. my own ambitions was a major shift! I knew that one day, when my kids were grown, I’d begin a new career. As that day approached, I decided to go back to my earliest passion, fully embrace my creativity, and become a professional actor.
I’d dipped my toe into professional acting throughout my business career: theater and a bit of film, TV, and commercial work here and there. My daughter also loved performing, and when she wanted to transition from musical theater to film and TV, her new agent invited me to join the roster, too. Lucky for me, older actors were in demand!
Almost immediately, I began booking roles. I also trained extensively in on-camera technique, script analysis, voice over, and improv to better compete with the growing numbers and excellence of career actors here in the Southeastern market. Atlanta’s film and TV industry is expanding by leaps and bounds, attracting studios, production companies, and many talented LA and NY-based actors, who continue to raise the performance bar. An actor’s training is on-going, skills are always being developed and sharpened!
New opportunities arise, too, especially as technology changes or the world shifts. The pandemic saw a dramatic rise in remote conferencing, video marketing, and digital education. I saw many business people unprepared and uncomfortable to suddenly become a part of the online world, especially when they were tasked or felt obligated to make their own videos, participate in Zoom presentations, and use social media as a marketing strategy. That’s when I began offering my video communications services, starting off with a series of “how to” YouTube videos.
Now, in addition to being a screen and voice actor, I bridge the business and entertainment worlds to help entrepreneurs, executives, and industry professionals become better on camera themselves. In a way, I’ve come full circle back to the corporate world by combining my twin passions for business and performing – and I’ve never been happier.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Let me answer three ways, in each of my capacities as an on-camera actor, voice actor, and video communications coach/consultant.
ON-CAMERA ACTOR
An actor’s life is quite different from that of the business person! In the corporate world, while career paths are not as clearly delineated as they were in previous generations, there’s still more or less an understood upwards trajectory and a correlation between hard work and success over time. You prepare for your career in school, you train on the job, and you climb the corporate ladder or switch companies for better opportunities. Typically, the greater your experience and good performance, the more rewarding your position and compensation.
In acting … not so much. There is continuous training, constant auditioning, little professional feedback (outside of class), and a tremendous amount of rejection. The best performance is not always hired, as there are so many other considerations: Does the actor fit our vision for the role? Does the actor look like the other actors hired as a family? Is the actor too tall? Too short? Too heavy-set? Too thin? Have the producers decided if they want an Asian male or an African-American female as the spokesperson? Or do they now want additional options? It’s very subjective and actors rarely know why or why not they weren’t selected. And annual compensation? It’s unpredictable, totally dependent on what you book that year … or didn’t. The vast majority of actors need other jobs to support themselves.
As an older person with savings earned from my corporate days, the financial struggle hasn’t been an issue. As an ambitious, competitive individual, though, I must continually remind myself that effort doesn’t always equate to equal or better results. The real job is not the booking. It’s the auditioning. The opportunity to perform for the casting director, director, producer, or whoever will be looking at my work. The booking is the icing on the cake. And yes, it’s sweet! There’s nothing better than being able to do what you love, expressively yourself creatively, seeing the result of your work on TV, film, or video, and being paid for it.
VOICE ACTOR
My experience as a voice actor echoes much of what I experience as an on-camera actor, especially with regard to auditioning and booking. The big difference is that I’m much less dependent on agents to find work. Voiceover jobs are largely procured through my own marketing efforts (and casting sites, to a lesser degree). It’s a numbers game: the more contacts I make and maintain, the greater the chances for auditions and bookings.
With voice over, I’m directly involved as a business person with lead generation and follow-up, invoicing, and marketing. The biggest challenge is finding sufficient time for the marketing, as VO is not my only pursuit. When I first started in 2017, the biggest challenge was building a solid foundation for my business: training, acquiring and learning to use professional equipment in my home studio, finding my first agents, developing those first clients. I quickly discovered that the financial investment for a voice actor is significantly higher than for an on-camera actor, especially now in this post-pandemic world. Today’s voice actor needs a home studio to record and submit auditions and jobs.. We must be our own audio engineers and booth directors so that we can deliver a quality product. We’re also competing with many, many other voice actors, as well as a growing number of improving AI options.
Still, the work is very rewarding. There are many genres to specialize in, ranging from video games to audiobooks to political ads to medical narration – just to name a few – and plenty of opportunities to stand out from the crowd.
VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS COACH/CONSULTANT
The biggest struggles have been two-fold: 1) honing in on the main “pain points” and 2) building a client base.
As with any business built from the ground up, you must know what problems you are helping to solve. As my marketing coach likes to tell me, listen to what your leads, prospects, and customers are telling you. Perhaps you thought it was one thing, but the real opportunity turns out to be something different! For me, it was realizing that people need help overcoming self-doubt, anxiety, and even reluctance about speaking on camera, followed by help dealing with nervous habits like fidgeting or using filler words much too often (um, you know, like, etc.).
I met the second challenge of building a client base by sharing my expertise far and wide through LinkedIn posts, speaking engagements, a collaborative marketing book that was published last summer, and lots of videos for social media demonstrating my knowledge and expertise.
In each of my three areas, the key is consistency! Showing up. Staying the long course. Developing and demonstrating high skill levels. Delivering excellent customer service, whether that’s reliability and responsiveness, a team-player attitude, or going above and beyond in everything I do. There will always be obstacles and challenges. The goal is to meet them with grace, courage, and the willingness to adapt and apply new ideas.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Laura Doman Productions?
Thanks for asking! I help you “stop the scroll” on social media by elevating the human performance in your videos. You only have a few seconds to make a strong impression, so you need to make them count.
I do this in one of two ways: as a video communications consultant and coach, and as an on-camera actor and voiceover artist.
As a video communications specialist, I leverage my previous career experience as an IT sales exec with my current work in entertainment. Yes, your message must be tailored to your audience, clear and concise, and backed up with a motivating call-to-action. But … the message alone is not enough. You need a relaxed, confident, and dynamic delivery to interest your viewers, with a dose of entertainment value thrown in to boot. The competition for eyeballs on content is exceedingly high, and you need (to quote an adage from my sales days) “high tech, high touch” to stop viewers from scrolling past or clicking away from your videos.
I’ll leave the high tech to the video production specialists … and I can recommend plenty, so if you’re looking for an excellent video production company for your project, drop me an email. Personally, I find that that the high tech in our mobile phones’ cameras, portable mics, and Ring lights works well for most videos, especially since informal short videos (under 60 seconds, shot portrait-style) are trending strongest right now.
The high touch is in the human element, which AI can’t match – and may never quite get there. People are emotional creatures and we intrinsically connect to each other and our content through our emotional reactions. The intellect is present, of course, to judge the quality and relevance of the material, but it’s our gut and intuition that size up the authenticity, credibility, and appeal of what we’re evaluating … and who’s presenting it.
My work in this area is two-fold:
1. Helping you – whether you’re an entrepreneur, businessperson, C-suite executive, or content creator – become more comfortable on camera, so that your genuine, charismatic self can shine forth in your videos.
2. Showing you how to make the camera work for YOU with dynamic delivery techniques borrowed from the entertainment world so you can:
• grab attention as a 3D person within a 2D medium
• develop your executive presence for videos, Zoom calls, interviews, and other online appearances
• speak effectively to different types of audiences
• use a teleprompter like a pro and not like some “talking head” reading words off a screen
• master social media!
My services are tailored to each client’s unique situation and customized to their needs and budget. I can come to you or we can meet via Zoom either as individuals or with your work team. I love to work with groups of all kinds; I’m a frequent guest speaker for conferences, business meetings, webinars, and podcasts. I’m also the co-author of “The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever,” in which I share my top ten tips for leveraging videos and your YouTube channel.
What if you’re camera-shy, have no intention of changing, but still want dynamic videos that attract new business? Get someone else to do it! That’s where my other human performance service kicks in.
• As an on-camera actor, I can tell your story as a host or as a character in your script. I do this plenty of times for corporate industrials using a teleprompter, one of my favorite tools for long-form content. I think of it as “the love child” of on-camera and voice acting, because it brings the best of both world … without a lot of memorization!
• As a voice actor, I can narrate your website and training videos, as well as commercials for broadcast or internet paid placement. You don’t even have to have a person on camera. Tell your story with film clips, still shots, or brand images, and let my voice do the work. I’ve got your friendly CEO, knowing mom, compassionate medical provider, and even the wacky neighbor in my wheelhouse, though I’ve been known to voice an animated goldfish or fun-loving witch from time to time.
There are other video performance coaches out there. Some may have prior business experience as a client, some may be actors or former news anchors looking to branch out. I come to the party with the ability to bridge the business and entertainment worlds, with real world experience in corporate sales, public speaking, and on-camera and voice performance to help your videos “stop the scroll,” get noticed, and attract new customers.
Want some freebies? Visit my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@lauradoman to watch both short and long form videos on how to do this. And if you like a little dose of humor, check out my MOMisms playlist. Know those funny little sayings you find on cocktail napkins, towels, and aprons you see when you walk into a gift shop while on vacation? Yup, they’re here in 5-10 second videos that bring them to life.
How about a free 15 minute consult to see how I may be helpful to you? https://www.lauradoman.com/service-page/free-consult or reach out to laura@lauradoman.com
You can also download my top ten tips for outstanding video performance: https://www.lauradoman.com/consulting
Finally, I love to network! I’m always interested in meeting new people, learning about your business, and when I can, referring you to other folks who could be potential clients for you. So let’s talk!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
A healthy balance in life is what has always made me happy.
Work and family. Left vs. right brain (business/creative arts). Intellectual pursuits to physical exercise.
I’m happiest in this stage of life because I have this balance, as well as the freedom to once again focus on myself and explore my full potential. The children are grown. My husband and I have financial stability. And I’m loving my creative pursuits, while simultaneously running the business to support and grow them.
Most of all, I’m doing what I’ve always loved – and making my inner child (who always wanted to be an actress) very happy. Creativity inspires more creativity and I never seem to be wanting for new ideas. My work is continually introducing me to new friends of all generations and backgrounds and I’m exposed to a wider swath of life than if I’d stayed on a more traditional path.
I especially love all the speaking engagements I’ve had, sharing what I’ve learned about on-camera engagement through the YouTube videos I make and widely post, and co-authoring a marketing book last year with subject matter experts from around the world. I also feel freer now than ever to showcase my humor in my MOMisms video series. There’s nothing better than hearing how they’ve made people laugh and how much they’re shared and enjoyed!
What makes me happy? A life well-lived on my own terms. I wish this for everyone!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.LauraDoman.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura.v.doman
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laura.v.doman
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lauradoman
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lauradoman
