You own self-tape set up. People ask me all the time how I self-tape. I bought this set-up about a year ago and use it all. the. time. I don’t use the backdrops often as I have a nice white brick wall at my disposal, but I like the black sheet that is included for horror auditions, darkens things up a bit! But the lighting kit is fantastic. If you are not a fan of filming at home (say you like getting coached, me too!) this is still nice to have for those times you get the audition sent to you at 8pm and it’s due the next day at 10am. Trust.

You guys have probably seen me use this in my IG Stories quite a few times. If you don’t have an ice roller yet, I’m not sure what you’re waiting for. They are SO good for facial de-puffing and before putting on makeup. And boys, you will like it too. My boyfriend always asks me to ice roll his face…especially when he’s hungover haha. 

Printer Ink and paper. So lame, I know. But if you’re like me, you put off buying the essentials until you absolutely have to…except that this sucks when you can’t print off 3 pages of sides. Stock up on the little things that make this crazy job easier and love yourself in 4 months. 

Uber and Lyft gift cards. Did you know you can buy those on Amazon? Well, you can! Last year I bought myself a $100 Uber gift card and instantly loaded it to my account. I forgot I did this for a while until I realized I hadn’t been changed for rides in a long time. And then part way through 2017 my car finally kicked the bucket and I was car-less for a few weeks. I can’t hug myself more for the unknowing investment I put. You never know when you’ll need a ride in LA, save yourself some future cash and get yourself some credits!

Time to stop tossing your headshots in your bag and handing them over wrinkled and dirty. Upgrade your HS/R with a nice portfolio. And yes I know what you’re thinking, I hardly ever get asked for a headshot these days! But I bet in the last 3 months a CD has asked for one and you haven’t had it. So let’s just plan to be ready and have a nice pro level look to you. Why not?