MEET SUZANNE...
Now I didn't think much about this transition because I'd been in public so much as a model. The hard part was feeling like I belonged in a retirement home because I couldn't model anymore.
But, it was actually a blessing in disguise because even though the modeling industry was glamorous, it was still trading time for money.
In the TV and film industry, though, when you recorded certain jobs, such as a national TV commercial or a movie, you would get residuals, where you're paid every time it plays on television, radio or theater. That's when I learned you can have a passive income through video.
And, that's what I wanted... to get my first national commercial so I could make a passive income through video... pay off my first house and be free of trading time for money. So I began to get excited about speaking on camera.
But, that all changed when I got my first TV commercial back in the 80s...
I was a spokesperson talking to the camera for the first time in my life. And you know what happened? On the first take, I froze like a deer in the headlights - speechless! Now this was a small set, but I remember the director dropping his head and the crew looking at each other, like "UGH!" It was kind of embarrassing...
At that moment, I had a choice. Shrivel up or press on. I said, “Let's go” and at the end of that second take, the director and crew were elated and that commercial went on to become award winning.
That was my Ah-hah moment, I thought, “Okay, I can do this!” So I got busy marketing myself, started auditioning... but didn't get any work. And that was because I didn't take learning the video medium seriously.
Because, you see, it was very competitive – you had to get noticed in a sea of faces on camera and there were tricks to doing it well. Plus... much like today where people can click away in an instant... Back then, the producers – the decision makers - would watch the auditions on VHS tapes – remember those? They'd sit there and watch them on fast forward. If you caught their eye, they'd stop and listen. That was a precursor to today's clicking away... That's what I was up against 30+ years ago.
So I made a plan. I got an agent. Agent said I had to get training. Paid $1500 for photos and basic training - when $1500 back in the '80's was a lot of money. And I started getting auditions... but I wasn't getting jobs.
That's when I knew I had to level up. I Got a mentor who taught me the actual secrets of the industry that the agent wasn't teaching me. That mentor was in the industry - she was in front of the camera and was teaching others how to do it. Because the agent was not in front of the camera. Not their job.
I needed somebody with the right experience on camera, knew the secrets AND knew how to teach others to do it too. And that is something that's not widely available even today.
THAT'S WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED...
I got my first national commercial...
...and received a residuals check in my mailbox every week for three years. Had loads of work show up... got into the top percentage of earners in Screen Actors Guild... was elected to the Screen Actors Guild Executive Council... trained actors and co-directed the acting conservatory for Screen Actors Guild... and opened my own school.
So I turned around, and trained others to succeed because I had succeeded in the business.
But two problems arose
In the acting world – I had achieved automated income, yes, but I still needed to audition for more work. Because I didn't have control of how long that income was going to last. And because the auditions were last minute, I had no time freedom.
The second problem was with my business. Since I was doing all the training IN PERSON, I couldn't scale my business.
But, I still wanted to automate my income and have time freedom.
So I got on the internet and built a content site, had hundreds of thousands of visitors. And then you know what happened? I got slammed by Google when they changed their algorithm, lost half my traffic overnight. And then, two months later, my dad died. Plus, by this time, despite denying that I could be anything but successful, I was starting to feel midlife burnout and fatigue.
So, I quit the online world and went back into sales part time. Which, interestingly enough, was another part of my journey because I started integrating my sales skills in my camera auditioning work.
Then the magic happened! I had another Ah Hah moment and asked myself, "What if I return online, but this time use video to automate my income because I know how to sell on video and I can use an automated video process to do the selling?"
But, midlife challenges were hitting me really hard. I started losing confidence, a common symptom of midlife changes. I couldn't think or focus well. And at times I was laying on the floor hemorrhaging blood so badly, I thought I was going to die. How was I going to stay successful in business when I was holding my mother's hand to her grave and my own body was falling apart in the process.
But I was determined!
I was not going to say goodbye to success or to my dream of an automated income. So, I made a plan...
I built an online course.... used videos to automatically do the selling and serving. And I hired help, but again, just like the agent wasn't the right choice to get me where I wanted to go, the people I hired weren't the right choices either. Plus, I was getting more fatigued and discouraged as I continued to fail.
What I needed to do was address my health and get an online mentor who had the right experience. So I did two things.... I hired a world-renowned doctor who literally saved my life and found the right online mentor.
And that's when everything changed again...
I got my energy back!
I had a mentor who had the right experience to help me build the automated funnels I needed. I was able to focus and be productive again. And finally, I got over the hump so I could get the success I've always wanted for my life.
Now, I'm following my passion for helping others who are feeling the pressure of doing video for their businesses as well as feeling the effects of midlife threaten their success. I believe that everyone needs to use video to automate their income so they have more time freedom and control of their lives. Especially when they need more time freedom to tackle midlife's heavy responsibilities.
