The phrase, “Build it and they shall come,” was made famous in the movie Field of Dreams.
What in the world does a movie quote about baseball have to do with your TV hosting career? It’s all about the build.
How do you build a hosting career if you’ve never hosted before? Naturally, YOU know you can be a good host, but how do you convince others of it? Ugh, it‘s the exact same conundrum I was in when I wanted to be a teenage babysitter. I would say to the parent, I know I haven’t babysat before, but I am a responsible teen who can be trusted to watch your most prized possession (your child!), and I promise not lose them!
So, ultimately how did I get the first parent to trust me? I offered up my services for FREE! I suppose the parents I sat for didn’t mind losing a child… as long as they didn’t have to pay!
Anywhooo. I digress.
I believe the same holds true for building a hosting demo. Be willing to work for free at first, to get your hosting sea-legs. Give yourself latitude to screw up when it doesn’t “count” and when everybody else is learning, too. Build relationships with those who may not be paying today because you never know where they’ll end up tomorrow. Work for free to see if you even LIKE hosting, for goodness sake!
Above all, always treat every job (whether you’re paid or not) as if it were for a big network because those will be the skills you take with you when the big network comes knocking and you want to have solid hosting habits, firmly in place.
In the infamous words of my husband, Marty Metro, “Good luck and be yourself!”
Tracy Metro is a TV host who has worked for Fine Living, TLC, Discovery, Disney, Sony, Mark Burnett, et al hosting shows about cooking, DIY, shopping, eco-lifestyle, et al subjects. To learn more about her (because now you’re intrigued), go to www.tracymetro.com