We recently had the chance to connect with Troy Holden and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Troy, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Everyday is VERY different for me depending on the focus of what is in the inbox and on my whiteboard. I start with email because 100% of my business comes through electronic means. I review my inbox for 15-20 mins and knock out any needed replies immediately. Then I am on to early auditions either from agent emails or online casting. From that it is starting the work based on the order of when it is due.
I have to schedule the day for both voice over and UGC content which could be all on site or on the farm and also I may have to drive somewhere to shoot video. As I am recording VO and UGC I am also watching for email and notifications from casting sites for anythig I need to jump on immediately. It can be exhausting on busy days and many of those days I never get to a second or thid time to sit and audition for VO jobs… if I have multiple jobs to deliver. I have learned to take it as it comes and that the paid work comes first.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I was the kid who lived in an imaginary world starting with my toys at a very young age. They all had a voice and character and I played with those toys as if they were all real in my maginary world. As I got closer to 10 I developed a huge fascination with radio and the people on the radio. Even the news and weather people… so my parents got me a cassette recorder and I began to “mock” those voices by reading the news and sports into my little plastic microphone.
Like many though, I went to college and the dream or radio was smashed as I learned about how hard it was and how little it paid… so I followed a business path and took a whole other direction. It was not until 2020 that I decided it was not too late to follow my dream of using my voice.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
My father was one of the smartest people I ever knew. He passed in 2016 and I lost my best friend. He worked hard his whole life for us to have everything he could not have. His dad passed when he was 2. Dad started his own business in the textile machinery world in 1979 and in 1982 he had been asked to take a line of euipment as an exclusive dealer in Tennessee and Kentucky. I was not loving my path and had worked for him part time but was an assistant manager at a grocery store at the time and he asked if I wanted t work for him and drive the parts department.
Over those years until 1994 I learned more than any school could teach about customer service, finance and people skills. My Dad was highly respected in the industry and very successful. No degree could have given me what watching him and being around him gave. I carried that to even greater success because of NAFTA we had to close the business in 1994. I move on to the automotive manufaturing business and went from an hourly technician to management in under 2 years and later to an executilve at Nissan. I owe ALL of that to my Dad.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
This is hard because when we are young we may be trying to survive and fear change because of the expectations from others… but I would tell 25 year old or even 40 year old me to not be afraid to fail. I was so worried most of my life that I would not be able to provide for my family IF I tried to do what I wanted to do versus what I was doing for a living. The bottom line in BELIEVE IN YOURSELF and set yourself up to WIN.
When I got into voiceover I was like many others in 2020 and 2021 who wanted to work from home, was tired of the corporate world and did not “have” to make the money I made. I self-educated myself the first year, invested in myself the next year and was full time in VO after only 18 months. I also do not believe in a Plan B. It gives you an out. If you are going to do something you have to commit 100%
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely. The Tik Tok videos tell it all! I am a down to earth person who may share too much. A person who wants to help everyone but there is not enough time. A family first person who when working feels I am cheating my wife (who is home during the week as she works weekend nights) out of time together although she understands I have to work,
The only difference is I am probably even more me away from social media and the public. I know I have to filter things that go public due to the cultures of today… but as I get older (I am 62 in October) I just try to not overshare. For a person who is transparent, and overly at times, it takes some discipline. I have always enjoyed being in front of people through work, music, VO and UGC and it is not for the attention it brings… it is to be an example of hard work and determination.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
I would hope my kindness and friendship. I have always bent over backwards to over-deliver in everything. I always want to have a relationship over a sale so we have a long-term bond that we can trust and count on each other.
Sure, there are lots of one-offs in this type of work… but I treasure the clients who come back month after month. Building that trust and confidence is not easy as every client expects a “challenge” these days either on cost or delivery.
My job is to make it easy and memorable so next time they remember the experience over the cost!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://troyholdenvoices.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/troyholdenvoices/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/troyholden/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/troyholdenvoices
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@troyholdenvoices
- Other: Voice123- Troy Holden
Voices.com-Troy Holden
Fiverr-TroyHolden674Agents:
Access Talent-NY
J Pervis- Atlanta
Talent Group-Pittsburg
