Meet Elizabeth Saydah | Voiceover Talent

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Saydah and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I’m actually a very “risk-averse” person; it’s simply not in my nature, and the very idea makes me sweat. That said, I wouldn’t be where I am today – running my own voiceover business – had I not taken risks at very pivotal and specific points in my life. So let’s just say I’m a believer in the “calculated-risk” approach: I’m not just going to wander into the wilderness blindly; I’m going to think about it, and think about it hard. Then think about it again. It’s about balancing risk and thoughtfulness for me so I know I’m making the most educated decision I can possibly make in that moment in time, while still trusting my gut that it will work out. That gut-instinct thing takes time to develop though, which was and still is the hardest part for me. But once I had made a few of those calculated risks and they worked out, trust in myself grew, and then the confidence that I was on the right track.

The first big risk I ever took was leaving home (in New Jersey) in to go to college in Chicago. I had never been away from home and grew up in the stereotypical suburban “bubble,” so street smarts and urban living were *not* in my wheelhouse. I was so naive! And I also knew that if I hadn’t left, I probably would’ve settled back into a comfort zone that wouldn’t have allowed me to do everything I wanted to do. So extricating myself from that “comfort zone” was step one.

The second big risk was after spending a summer in LA taking a class and deciding I was just going to stay! I hightailed it back to Chicago, packed up my things and road tripped it out with my childhood best friend. And the rest of history. So it was another “comfort zone” risk, while also identifying that the opportunity was in LA. I love Chicago, my best friend lives there, and I was basically happy, but realized it wasn’t going to offer me the opportunities I was after. So – I left.

The third big risk was quitting my survival jobs (emphasis on jobs, plural), and focusing on my voiceover business full time. What a gamechanger that was. All the energy I was putting into my side hustles (did I mention I was a professional balloon twister?) was energy that I needed to be putting into building my business, marketing, auditioning, getting clients, and just educating myself on an industry that was rapidly changing. This was by far my scariest risk, because I am a PLANNER (accountant’s daughter), a total control freak about my financial security, and just terrified to fail and the potentially major hit to my pride. But once I committed and committed hard day in and day out, my momentum started growing, and 6 years after going full-time, my business has quadrupled. So I think this risk lesson was primarily about trusting myself and honing in on that gut instinct that this was the right thing to do.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m biased, but I have the best job. As a voiceover talent, I voice videogames, commercials, corporate content, audiobooks, eLearning, and the like. I started my business about 10 years ago, went full-time with it about 6 years ago, and I love it so much. So much in fact, that my work-life balance could use some work. You know that saying, “if you love what you do you don’t work a day in your life”? The downside to that is, if you’re someone like me, it can turn you into a full-blown workaholic. So that’s a work in progress. But the upside (and there are many) is that I work from home out of my own studio, basically set my own schedule, and don’t have to answer to anyone but the boss (me). Those were my main job goals when I first began “adulting”, which I eventually got to after years of grinding it out.

Some days it’s hard to motivate. Since I’m the talent, the audio engineer, the accountant, the administrator, the IT department, etc. it can be a lot sometimes. But I usually just zoom out on the big picture in those moments and focus on gratitude. On the flip side, having lived in “survival mode” for so long when I moved to LA, I still start every week thinking, “oh, I’ll never work again.” I don’t know if that ever goes away, but it sure keeps me on my toes.

When I first started – and what I tell anyone who asks about the VO business – I was doing it every. single. day. Auditioning. Marketing. Consistently and persistently. I get that it’s hard, and it can get very tedious – even boring. And when you feel like you’re just throwing darts in the dark, it can be discouraging. So those are the key moments where staying motivated is a must, because you will get there. Just try not to worry so much about the timeline.

As far as the Elizabeth Saydah Voiceover “brand,” I’m your knowledgeable, confident, natural, funny-when-it’s-called-for voice next door.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My greatest discovery during Covid was the San Bernardino Mountains and the communities up there: Lake Arrowhead, Crestline, Running Springs. Big Bear is cool, but it’s starting to feel kind of overrun, and I’m partial to the undiscovered gems. In fact, I fell so in love, my fiance and I decided to build a home there!

SoCal in general is a treasure trove of adventure and things to do, and I love the outdoors passionately – being in nature keeps me sane. We have every climate (surf or ski on the same day), terrain (mountains, valleys, desert, beach), and walk of life imaginable. Not to mention it’s GIANT, so there’s endless possibilities.

The ideal trip to share would be: AirBnB in Lake Arrowhead or Lake Gregory, hit all the antique shops in the area, do some standup paddleboarding, hiking, and find some fun hole in the wall spots to eat. A day trip I would work in there is heading out to Palm Springs and doing the tram ride up into the San Jacinto Mountains. Unbelievably gorgeous. I’d also make a stop in Idyllwild for some coffee/food/shopping. Other than that, I would play it by ear! I think because I’m such a planner in my everyday life, when I go on vacation, I like to go with the flow, make sure I relax, and just see what happens. Overscheduled vacations exhaust me! As long as there’s plenty of outdoor time and good food, I’m happy.

I will say – currently living in Tarzana – I regularly hike the Topanga State Park, and that is probably one of my favorite local spots. I also love Topanga as a neighborhood in general. It’s chock full of fun shops and little restaurants to explore.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Oh I love this question, because I don’t care how cliche it sounds: we can’t do it alone. And I’ve tried! I also could never attribute any success to any one person or moment or decision; success is cumulative, and all those little steps along the way were necessary to get me here.

First and foremost: my parents. I won the lottery in that department, and have the utmost gratitude for them and their unwavering support. And I mean *unwavering.* Choosing to be an artist or in any kind of creative field, or being a freelancer, or starting your own business (or all of the above in my case!), can be a hard life to choose. It ebbs and flows and there’s so much uncertainty. Moreover, when you don’t work, you don’t make money – there’s no calling in sick! But when it’s humming along, it is simply the best. So my parents never doubting my choices from Day 1 gave me that confidence that – again – “this feels right.”

Another cliche that I’m happy to share: that gamechanger teacher figure. I had an incredible drama teacher in high school, Okey Chenoweth, who I swear was responsible for breaking me out of my shell. I was PAINFULLY shy, terrified of the stage, and the idea of performance was never on the table. But he encouraged me to audition for the school play as a freshman – Romeo & Juliet – and I got the role of the Second Servant to Capulet. I remember thinking, “what the hell,” and coming up with this zany character to play, and everyone laughed, and I was hooked for the rest of time; the spell had been broken. I also knew comedy was something that I had to continue doing in some capacity because I realized I just loved it. He got us doing improv, Shakespeare, you name it. And the best part was that it was so inclusive. Everyone from the football players to the theater nerds were involved in some capacity, and that was just awesome.

There are, of course, countless others who have helped along the way, and I have incredibly supportive people in my life now, but I have to highlight the “origin story” above all, because that set the ball in motion as far as who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do.

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