Should I pursue Acting or a career in Business?

Question

I have just a year left until i get my degree. I love acting and cannot imagine not doing it as a career..but it is very hard and money does not actually come enough to pay rent, etc. When i graduate i dont know if i should start going to audtions and try and pursue acting..but at the same time..cannot get a job in business because auditions are time consuming. I'm afraid that if acting doesnt work out and i decide to find a job in Business in a few years that i would not get hired because of lack of experience and few years not working after graduating. PLEASE HELP

Answer 1

Odds are against you with acting. (not saying that you can't make it!) I would go with business for now. Get established...sock some money away. Then if you really want to persue it, you will at least have a cushion. I would still stay with my day job though... Good luck!

Answer 2

There's a lot of good answers on this string. Even the one liner, "Why not do both?". It is show BUSINESS. The actors that usually fail are the ones with no business plan. Having talent is really less important. The stories of Oscar nominee grade talent that end up going back to Back Woods, Kansas, are everywhere. As for talent that does get into the business well enough to make a living, ever watch the tube and say to yourself. "I could have done that better."

Having said all of that it comes down to answering this one question in your heart. Can I do anything else and be happy? If the answer is yes, then do that thing and be happy. If the answer is no, then prepare yourself for difficult times. It will take you about ten years of successfully finding work to become adept at acting for a living. Then maybe, maybe, maybe....

Answer 3

I'm guessing you're fairly young. I would definately finish getting your degree no matter what. From there perhaps try to find a job that allows you some flexibility if it's acting you want to pursue. Set realistic goals along the way and as you reach them, set new ones. Set some timelines to achieve your goals and push yourself to reach them.
If it's something you feel you can really be successful at then go for it. It's better to go after your dreams when you don't have as many responsibilities versus later on. You'll always have your degree and if you need to use it in a few years, I'm sure you'll find a job. It may not be the same level as if you were working over those few years but you can't have everything unfortunately. You have to sacrifice one thing to reach for another sometimes. Make sure you get your degree though.

Answer 4

I would say pursue the acting. Find day jobs that give you business experience and consider doing something entrepreneurial to help build your resume. You really need an MBA to get far in this business world so if you go back to school, it won't make it hard to enter the business market. Besides, MBA admissions people like diversity. Having experience in theater will make you standout as someone different. You may also be able to find a business oriented theater career. Check out http://www.backstagejobs.com for some options. Besides, if you try out an acting career and hate it in one year you shouldn't have a hard time going back to business. If you try business for a year and hate it, you may have a real hard time transitioning from a good job to the food stamp lifestyle of an actor.

Answer 5

If it takes money and the normal life style to make you happy, then business. But the truth is that almost no body makes any money acting, a few stars and well known supporting actor, and that's about it. Average yearly income of a Screen Actor's Guild member is $5000. No body lives on that, all most every actor is a part time actor and earns his living doing something else. If you owned your own business and could set your own hours, it could support your trying to become an actor, but then again, you would need extraordinary talent and personality among other things to become an actor.

Answer 6

I agree with the person above; get educated in business, get a job that you can generate a surplus from for a while, then when you have extra money to be able to try and make it big in acting for a few months, go for it.

Answer 7

ACTING LIKE YOU'RE A BUSINESS

by Bob Fraser

OUR REAL BUSINESS

Too often we actors get so caught up in the sub-atomic
details of our 'inner lives,' our insatiable desire to
perform, the lengths to which we will go - to satisfy
that itch, our financial distress, and our recent lousy
experiences with the business - that we tend to neglect
our REAL interests.

Take it from an old fish - who has traversed these
waters for 4 decades - in real life, it is an absolute
necessity to view your acting career as a business. A
small business to be sure, but one that has the real
potential to grow into a rather large small business.

And, as naturally as putting on weight follows Krispy
Kremes and Coca Cola, we must conclude that in order
to have a successful small business, we are probably
going to have to learn some skills that will help us
in ... 'Anyone? Anyone? – Bueller?' ... BUSINESS.

It is very important to really understand the concept
that your business is very much like any other small
business. The first concern of business is to develop
a large group of satisfied customers.

Here’s where some actors come a cropper. Other actors,
production companies, agents, managers, casting folks …
they are the suppliers, sales people, distributors, co-
contractors, and marketing people.

My friends, they are OTHER businesses, with whom you
hope to do some joint ventures.

These other show biz folk are NOT your customers. The
actors' customers are called “the audience.”

Forget this (or argue with it) at your own risk.

CUSTOMER BASE & PUBLIC RELATIONS

The bigger the customer-base we bring to the table,
the more our business is going to flourish. Which
brings up the second rule of sustaining a "going
concern:"

Keep improving the product. You are the product ...
the rest is self-explanatory.

Public relations, sales, advertising and referral
business contacts are four fundamental areas that also
must be attended to. These things are what bring you
new business. They are all important to sales. You
will probably have to start out doing these things
on your own.

Public relations is mainly about being nice. Charming.
Memorable – in a good way.

SALES

When it comes to sales, here are a few important
concepts:

Be dependable. Why do you think you hear "It's
dependable" on so many commercials? Dependable (on
time, off book, in the zone) is a big part of the
sales pitch.

Deliver the goods. Delivery is another big advertising
pitch for good reason.

Be easy to work with. This is a good beginning, but the
key phrase you want attached to your efforts is: "A JOY
to work with."

ADVERTISING

Since advertising is a scientific enterprise, your
headshot and resume (and your online presence) can
be tested for effectiveness – so you should test.

For instance, direct mail advertisers (who mail
unsolicited sales pitches) consider 3% a minimum
effective return. It follows that we should consider
our unsolicited direct mail the same way. If you are
not getting called in 3 times for every 100 headshots
(or other mailings) you send – maybe it's time to try
another headshot or mailer.

Test. Which means you have to keep accurate records.
Like sitting down and counting and listing and math and
stuff. I know – yuck. But if you don’t do it, who is
going to do it for you?

Referral business contacts. This is the sole reason to
act without getting paid. Student films, equity-waiver,
and actor-collective productions are okay, IF you are
meeting and working with people who are better than
you are. If you are the best in the group, it’s
probably time to move on.

The best way to make business contacts is to be
involved in your own life and your own business. Like
love, business contacts will come to you in the
strangest places. You will meet people at the gym –
the museum – the produce section – the Krispy Kreme
store…

THE RULES

Try very hard not to be anxious, or grasping, or needy –
or – just like with love – you can 'go too fast.'

In the final analysis, you will have to handle the
elemental business things of your acting career – or
they won’t get done. All you have to do is be nice,
dependable and a joy to work with. You’ll also want to
become an advertising number cruncher, a memorable
collaborator and paying attention to your customers –
all while still having an outside life.

If this is not how you naturally behave, and you can't
(or won’t) develop these habits – well, there are other
businesses where being nice and a joy to work with
aren’t that important – like ... morgue attendant.

Just kidding. I know you. I know you'll pay attention
to business.

* * * *

Bob is the show business career advisor who's actually
done it - as an actor, writer, director, producer and
show-runner on such hits as Full House, Benson, The Love
Boat, Condo, Hard Knocks, and many others.

The author of You Must Act! & Headshot Secrets Revealed,
Bob is a regular columnist for Now Casting, Actors Life,
and Acting Magazine. His articles have been read by tens
of thousands of actors all over the world - and he's been
a featured speaker at AFI, SAG Conservatory, Equity Library
Theatre, UCLA, USC, Denver University, Actors Creative
Network, Film Industry Network, Women In Film, and more.

You can subscribe to his FREE industry e-zine - Show Biz
How-To - by going here:

http://www.showbizhowto.com

* * * *

Answer 8

why do something you don't love? i think you should have a shot at acting, and if it doesn't work out then you can always remind yourself that you gave it your best shot. if it does work out, then you'll be glad you didn't have a career in business. just remember: if you give up on acting, will u look back and regret it?

Answer 9

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Answer 10

For Acting and Modeling, I would recommend

http://www.hollywoodnorth.com