Phil Tederous has been cutting my hair for more than 20 years. He's an affable guy — maybe a little younger than me — and an entrepreneur/businessman in the grandest tradition.
Although his bread 'n' butter is hair styling, he's also tried running restaurants, gift shops, managing office space, and more recently launching a fitness salon.
We've grown to share our personal lives and our professions while I spend time in his chair.
As my voice-acting business grew, he asked me more and more questions about how it all worked. Then came the day when he said he wanted to hire me. Since we're such good friends, I told him maybe we could barter something.
"No," he said. "We need to arrange a compensation package for what I want you to do for my business." He mostly wanted me to update his various phone system messages once-a-month. It was a piece of cake, but he insisted on paying me for my voice services.
See?
Phil gets it.
He's not just a stylist. He's a businessman; and he recognizes how hiring my service benefits his business. When callers can't get Phil live on the line, they hear a professionally-recorded message instead.
I'm not going to get rich on the jobs Phil gives me, but I'm sooooo encouraged that he understands the value of MY work for HIS business .
Oh, and he's an excellent stylist, too.
CourVO
