Actingbiz - How Do You Build A Successful Acting Career?

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How Do You Build A Successful Acting Career?

by Anthony Smit

Are you just getting started in your acting career? Have you been acting for some time now and aren't satisfied with the amount of work you've been able to get? Are you getting work consistently, but only making enough money to make ends meet? Do you want to kick start your acting career? If after reading those questions, you feel compelled to read on, think about the following:

Difficulties Many Of Us Actors Sometimes Face

New to show business and just seem to be wallowing around to find out what you should be doing to get started in the right way!
Not being sent out on many auditions.
Rarely getting called back.
No agent and not sure how to get one.
Not many industry contacts and can't seem to meet that industry professional I would really like to meet.
Difficult to balance work and the demands of an acting career.
Able to book jobs, but not always able to keep them.
Sending out materials (audition tapes, headshots, and résumés) but not getting the types of responses you would like or none at all!
Don't have the money to take classes, so just taking a workshop every now and again instead of going to a school or regular classes. It's been the situation for months. Maybe even years.
Having difficulty getting off work for auditions, because the boss doesn't support employees' acting careers!
Difficult to prepare well for auditions, because of work. Either too tired or just not enough time in the day to work on your acting career!
Have to work at a club or restaurant until the wee hours of the morning and end up going into auditions looking and feeling like a zombie.
Don't have the cash to make a show-reel or audition tape, get headshots.
Not sure how to choose a headshot photographer!
Don't know how on earth it's possible to make a résumé, if I don't have anything to put on it! How on earth can I start an acting career!

Here's the Problem
The problem is, where will you be if you continue to do what you are doing? Where will you be if you continue to operate as you are, treading water instead of moving your acting career forward in a strong and decisive way?

If any of those above-mentioned things are true for you, would you agree that you have two choices? You can either continue doing what you have been doing and hope that something will change, or you can change your approach by aggressively and systematically going after what it is you desire - the acting career you really want.

In the following series of articles, we will address how to do that.

Anthony Smith left a successful corporate career as a senior manager in Nike and Levi's after 15 years to follow his dream of becoming an entrepreneur, writer, motivational speaker and actor. While enjoying success in his "new" life, Anthony shares his business insight and acting experience with young actors. Aside from acting work, he has created www.actingcareerstartup.com and his first book, Acting Career Start-Up: Four Key Factors For Success, is available now.

Copyright © Anthony Smith. Used with permission of the author. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or distributed.