Personal VO Views Archives - The Compassionate Voice

On the Clients’ Team

Business Tips, Personal VO Views, VO Business Tips

Not too long ago, I made a drive to my client’s studio. This trip was special because it took almost an hour by car (especially with East Coast traffic) to reach the location for the two-minute narration. Because the client is a new voiceover contact, I accepted the offer to visit their studio to help build a new relationship. While I could have easily recorded the short script in my professional home studio, going into the client’s studio gave me an opportunity to meet the team and to lay the foundation for our working relationship. Yes, voiceover success includes building relationships.

As a voice talent, the business is more than just auditioning. The voice actor needs to reach out and touch those they work with and for. Placing a face with a name can help you make a long-term connection and friend. In my case, the numerous home repairs in my community provided an excellent opportunity to get away from my voiceover studio and take time to understand the needs of a first-time client personally.

Relationships within the voiceover community are essential. Moreover, developing relationships, in general, is good because it’s the human thing to do. Voice talents are the audio ambassadors for their clients’ thoughts, products, and purpose. Through good working relationships, you as a voice actor can let your clients know that his or her projects are in good hands (and voice).

Don’t forget the relationship building side of the business. Little things like following up with thank you cards and remembering your clients during holidays and special anniversaries not only keep you in other’s mind but can also keep you in their heart. Most folks do business with those whom they like. Look for opportunities to do and be nice because it’s the kind thing to do.

In a culture that is becoming more and more polarized, developing your human side as a voice talent and a person is usually unexpected yet welcomed. If your client or clients are near, take the time to visit the studio if possible. Bring some cookies or something else to encourage the friendship. Who knows, you may return more often than expected.

Your Voiceover Endgame

Business Tips, Personal VO Views, VO Business Tips, Voice over Training, voiceover

My voiceover career has been one of the most exciting times of my life. For talents like me, voice acting is an expression of the innermost creative self. But, no matter how much we love our chosen profession, a day will come when we’ll have to move on. As a voiceover professional, you don’t want to suddenly fall off the radar screen. No matter the state of your career, give consideration and plan your voiceover endgame.

Build a network of succession. Many seasoned talents become coaches and mentors to novice voiceover talents. If you are a coach, note your students who have similar vocal styles and temperament, then consider including them in your succession plan. Let your clients know you are connected to other talented voice actors that you have nurtured. As you get to know a person you have coached and or worked with, you come to know his or her work ethic and what your clients can expect from the talent. This is a great way of passing along your business to other skilled persons. Even in your end game, credibility is still important.

Publicize your other skills. Before becoming a full-time voice talent, I worked as a communication manager for a scientific agency. The essence of my position was to break down complicated subject matters into everyday language for internal and external customers. Such “translation skills” (as I call writing, designing, project managing, etc.) are skills I acquired aside from voice acting.

Think about what skills you have that may come in handy during your post voiceover period. Let others know now about your skills in areas such as writing, designing, public speaking, etc. By letting your clients know about your other talents, you’re opening the door for options you may want to pursue after you have passed on the voiceover mantle.

Plan for financial changes. Start managing your finances and save for your future. If you haven’t already, consider an individual retirement account (IRA), Money Market Fund, Certificate of Deposit (CD) or other saving vehicles to prepare for changes to your regular income. The reality of money is our needs change with time. Your VO endgame should include some sound methods to keep your lights on and a roof over your head. Benjamin Franklin said, “There are three faithful friends – an old wife (or husband), an old dog, and ready money.”

Maintain good health. It’s important that you maintain good vocal and personal health throughout your life (See suggestions in my blog, “Voiceover Success: Your Mouth Matters”). No matter how long you choose to pursue voice acting or other pursuits, you’ll need good health to keep going. Take time to rest and address any changes in your voice or personal health. I recommend getting regular yearly check-ups from head to toe.

To the best of your ability, be ready for whatever “new game” is beyond your voice over career. The time is now to prepare for your voiceover endgame.

Recharging Your VO Creativity

Personal VO Views, VO Business Tips, Voice over Training, Voice talent renewal

Life springs from our human soul. From that soul, we as voiceover talent bring the written word to life. But when we find that compassion has emptied and seeped away from us, our creativity weans. No matter how talented you are or how long you have been in the voiceover business, creativity is not guaranteed nor is it nurtured by the world surrounding most of us. Here are some approaches to recharging your creativity.

It’s not New, but the Change Starts with You

Creativity is in short supply. The findings in a major study using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, led by Dr. Kyung-Hee Kim, Associate Professor of Creativity and Innovation at The College of William and Mary, found that since 1990, while IQ scores have increased, creativity scores have been in a significant decline.

Prior to Dr. Kim’s study, a 1968 government-sponsored study by George Land and Beth Jarman (educators) had similar results. Some 1,600 children were tested and retested on creativity over a period of years. The study revealed that the children’s creativity decreased over time with the most creativity expressed at age 5 of 98 percent to a decreased creativity at age15 of only 12 percent. When only adults were tested for creativity, the result was at 2 percent.

The time is now to reclaim your inventiveness. Barnet Bain writes in “Reclaiming Your Creative Self, The key to finding resilience, courage, and wonder in a changing world,” that “The tension we feel—the chronic stress and weariness experienced individually and collectively—comes from attempting to meet life’s challenges with limited resources.”

Find a Creative Outlet or Inlet

In the infographic, “40 Little Things You Can Do to Break Your Creative Block” by Kate England, creative inspiration can include daydreaming, journaling, and even doodling. England writes, “Take up doodling as a daily practice. Brilliant ideas often start as a scribble on a cocktail napkin or envelope.”

Take a Recess

Never underestimate the power of play. Let your mind run free while you walk, exercise, or watch a funny movie. Give your mind a break from your voiceover routine. You can meditate, sing a song, take a voiceover sick day. The point is to find what feeds your creative spirit to rekindle itself, so you feel fresh and able to put a new spin on all your VO projects.

Touch Base with a Friend

Having friends in voiceovers is not a marketing ploy. I highly encourage friendships in the industry. Friends can help you think out loud and sort out your feelings. You, in turn, can help another and give advice or listen. Take time to listen and give a friend time to speak and express how he or she feels. Connecting with others will also allow you to explore empathy and compassion for others, which can fuel the spirit.

There are many more ways to recharge your voice acting creativity, but most center around getting out of your drying creativity well by pouring yourself into life and the world around you outside of your booth.

Don’t be a statistic. Creativity is how voice talents effectively serve clients, so always strive to be the most creative you can always be.

When to Say “No” to A Voiceover Job

Business Tips, Personal VO Views, VO Business Tips

Voice actors in business provide a service. The Internet and social media are key places for hanging one’s shingle and open for business signs. In turn, offers for voice jobs can come from many sources. But what happens when you must turn down a gig? We all want to be liked (and get paid), so saying “no” may seem like a business killer. Sometimes, giving bad news is a part of life, but knowing why, when, and how to turn down business can make all the difference in your future. Here’re my why, when, and how for saying “No” to a voiceover job.

Why Do It

Since the whole point of a for-profit business is to make a profit, turning down business seems like the last thing a working voice actor wants to do. Still, circumstances will arise in life when turning down a voice job works best. In “When to Say No to Work” (posted in Backstage, April 7, 2011), Michael Kostroff notes, “It’s often said there are only three reasons to accept an acting job: 1) for artistic satisfaction, 2) for money, or 3) for career benefits—contacts, experience, education, film for your reel, a valuable credit, etc. It’s a philosophy well worth adopting. You may want to consider passing up jobs that don’t meet any of these criteria, leaving that work to someone for whom it might have greater value.”

When It’s Best

There is always a cost in running a business. Voice acting is a creative pursuit, but that does not remove the need to run an efficient business. When a project is very costly in time, a low return on investment, or needs more than you can provide for a final quality project, you may want to pass. Passing on a job should be a stepping stone not a bolder in the road. Look for ways to keep it moving.

How to Say It

In “The 8 do’s and don’ts of delivering bad news” (CNBC Make It) Wed, 5 April 2017,
Rhett Power’s advises, “Don’t burn your bridge – say it nice: Even though you won’t be working for the organization, it’s in your interests to be polite and professional. You never know when you might want to work for the employer in future, so it pays not to burn bridges.”

If you know you are not able to fulfill the offer, let the client know as soon as possible. Write or speak your message in a respectful tone and manner. Give one or two reasons for your decision. Shy away from giving reasons like such as there is not enough money in the project, you’re taking your kids on vacation, or you want to watch a movie. While these may be your legitimate reasons, the client may not agree. If your goal is money, then you may want to negotiate with the client beforehand to try to reach a better payment for the project. However, if you have another engagement, conflict or many obligations, a personal emergency, etc., express the truth in your information to your client. It’s better to be professional and upfront with your situation to help keep good working relationships. There may be a time when you are available and can perform other voice work.

End with salutations and a request to keep in touch. Business relationships start with people relationships. It’s your job as a professional voice talent to be savvy and helpful even if you have to say “No.”

Voiceacting At Your Service

Personal VO Views, VO Business Tips, voiceover

Voiceovers is a great way to express your creative side. If you take your acting to the next level, voiceovers as a business can be challenging as well as rewarding. For any company, adding related services can help meet more client needs. Let your voice acting business be a launch pad for developing a creative suite of services.

Audio Services

Those new to the business may start with recording and editing the dry voice. Custom recordings can include being directed in your home studio through Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) or other remote audio monitoring and recording tools. The next logical step is to add music and sound effects to your voice recordings. Add-on products to your dry voice can help your client and reduce his or her need to find sperate sources to finalize the products.

Music can be purchased via the web (including licensing etc.) for adding to your project. Consider Royalty Free Music. In his blog, What is Royalty Free Music? What does it mean exactly?, Gilles Arbour explains “In a nutshell Royalty Free Music refers to a type of music licensing that allows the purchaser to pay for the music license only once and to use the music for as long as desired.” You want to make sure that you have the proper license and permission to use music when incorporating into a client’s production or demo.

Multiple Voice Actors

If you are partnered with other voice actors, you can contract out a portion of your voiceover work to a talent of another sex or talent who has a different sound for client products. Develop the partnerships and written agreements before you have that large project. Establish turnaround times and other specifics within your agreements with others to keep your plans on time and on budget.

Additional Services

Consider adding copywriting, editing or other services. If writing is a skill you can offer, consider that as a part of your business’s for-pay service. Also, add video development to your suite of services. Review the web-based programs and apps that allow you to develop a video and add your voice to the final product. Your client can provide the graphics and data, and you can produce a complete product for your voiceover client’s platforms. If that’s a service you’re not ready to provide, again partner with those with good video skills and develop a process of working together to build your projects.

Sharing Knowledge

Teaching is an excellent way of giving back and helping others along their way to voiceover and business success. Consider volunteering or giving a free seminar in your community on getting into voiceovers. You can develop blogs or papers on voice acting and related skills and post to your website and social media platforms. Not all your information has to be only about voiceovers. Companies in different genres share the need for sound business practices and keeping abreast of valuable information. Share what you know to help improve the relationship between you and your current and potential clients.

Consider writing an eBook of your business knowledge or even a subject you consider yourself an expert. For example, if you are a cyclist, you may want to write about the basics, equipment maintenance, physical conditioning, accouterments, or other related topics. Let others know that you have interest and knowledge that link back to the excellence of your voiceover services. You can even voice the audio portion of your eBook and make your final product for sale or a giveaway to those visiting your website.

Keeping Your Clients Up to Date

As you evolve to more and better services, keep your clients in the loop through newsletters and social media postings. Your clients may have a project on the horizon, and your new company services will help fill the bill.

Don’t use consumers as your test case. Make sure your expanded services are tested and tried. Your clients should receive a seamless final project in the same manner as when you provided voiceover services alone.

Be Indispensable

The voice acting business can lead to so many creative services. Possible talents can include storytelling programs, video blogs, audio newsletters, and more. Take time and research what skills and services you can add to your business. Network with other voiceover actors, see what other skills they have, and combine the right skills to expand your suite of amenities.

Lastly, infrequently poll your existing clients and see if they have new service needs. Your clients may be looking for the know-how you recently added to your enterprise. Look for ways to expand your business to a full suite of creative tools to become your clients’ one stop shop.

Voiceover Learning Sites-My Picks

Business Tips, Personal VO Views

To stay on top of the ever-improving voiceover business, you’ve got to keep up with what’s going on. Doing voiceovers is the best. But as members of a networking society, reading blogs and reviewing useful Web sites can help keep you on top of trends and changes in the VO industry. Online voiceover information is freely available to help educate you and increase your understanding of the everchanging voiceover career field. Interacting with the voiceover community will not only help improve the quality of your vocal delivery but the quality you provide to your clients as well. Learn from the best through social media and the Web. Below are a few of my favorite sources of information for personal and professional voiceover success.

Nethervoice Blog

Paul Strikwerda is one of my favorite talents and voiceover business persons. As a wildly successful and grounded voice talent, Paul regularly shares excellent advice on many key topics. He freely shares from his decades of experience on trends in the VO industry as well as insights personally and professionally. I recently posted a blog on working from home inspired by Paul. (See “Voiceovers at Home but Not Alone.“)

VoiceOverXtra

Your “One-Stop Resource for Voice-Over Success” is a wealth of non-stop information on the voice-over industry. The site lives up to its name with daily resources, resource centers, help for new talent, regular advice from seasoned pros, polls, hardware and software information, and access to training and troubleshooting your home recording area. Also, the site has an easily accessible catalog of “how-to” information that is a must for receiving training resources from industry experts and working pros.

Gravy for the Brain

Gravy for the Brain has online courses, personal interaction events, and more aimed at raising the “standard of the voiceover industry.” Voiceover industry webinars and other training are also available. The concept, created in September 2013 by successful voice talent/business persons, is to keep voice acting professionals at the highest benchmark worldwide. The site is regularly updated to keep visitors fresh on what’s happening in voiceovers.

SocialMediaToday

Social media is here to stay and must be taken seriously as a venue for voiceover business marketing. Social Media Today posts updates and trends, as well as digital marketing, content marketing, and influencers’ renews in the social media arena. This distinctive source keeps businesses across all sectors current on social media trends and trend makers now and into the future.

Facebook Groups

Facebook has a wealth of voiceover related groups. There are groups to help with acting skills, marketing a business, studio gear, travel rigs, etc. There are even groups for honest expressions of business up and downs, how to deal with clients, voice and whole-body health, and sharing your favorite vocal booth tips. Some groups are private, but many are open to anyone seriously seeking to learn and interact with like-minded voice over talents. Access to Facebook group permission sites usually require responding to a few questions confirming the earnestness of the requester, but once in, your voiceover career will never be the same.

My list is by no means exhaustive. The Internet is growing every minute, so keep searching platforms for legitimate groups on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc. The offering of information and skills can be overwhelming, but this short list can lead you to reputable sites and instructors who can provide legitimate information via your fingertips for developing a successful voiceover career from just about anywhere in the world.

(Photo credit: Tom Baugis)

Ageless Voiceacting

Business Tips, Personal, Personal VO Views, Voice talent renewal, voiceover

If you’ve worked in various fields and now you find yourself exploring voiceovers in your 50s or older, you may be wondering are you too old to be a voice talent. That’s the farthest thing from the truth. However, success in voiceovers may mean that you have to work a little differently than those under 50 to keep relevant. Getting and being competitive as a voice talent involves preparation and smart work…and is not age based.

Recently, I was listening to one of my favorite podcast, and one of the co-hosts mentioned that new voice talent often asks her how old is too old to be a voice talent. Hearing the question, I had an immediate response. You see, I spent over 20 years working in communication, and in the later years of my career, noticed a change in the way employees over 50 were perceived by younger workers and employers. Many times, I witnessed older workers being labeled as out of touch, over the hill, or archaic in their careers. The funny thing is that most of these same workers were performing at peak or better in their jobs. The assumption of one being obsolete was made strictly based on age. So, I understand why new talent over 50 would question whether there is an age maximum as a voiceover performer.

I’m here to say voice acting has NO age requirement. It’s all about effectively sounding and emoting a particular age group.

Realize that Age is Just a Number: Do you remember “Rocky the Squirrel”? June Foray was the iconic voice of Rocky from “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.” June worked many years over her 50th birthday and had a total career span of 85 years. Now that’s what I call staying relevant.

What about the voice of the first Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer? Voice actor Billie Mae Richards performed Rudolph and other voices and was a working talent in 2004 at the age of 82, just six years before her death.

Solomon Hersh (best known as Paul) Frees started his acting career in 1942 and remained active for over forty years. Frees worked for major animation production companies including Walt Disney Studios, Walter Lantz Studios, UPA, Hanna-Barbera, MGM Studios, and Rankin/Bass. Paul worked well into his sixties. These actors worked into what some would call retirement years, but I call their best years.

Review your Bridges, Keep Some – Burn Some: It may be wise to decide which bridges to keep and which to burn. If you worked in a career or field for several years, some of these earlier associations could lead to future voiceover work. For instance, if you’ve worked in engineering or the medical field, you probably understand specific specializations not known to the average person. That knowledge and experience gives you a leg up as the perfect voice talent for jobs in your former career field. Let your colleagues know that you are a voice talent and available for related projects.

Use Old Profiles to Showcase Your New Business: Instead of combining your old social media professional profiles into your voiceover sites, consider rewording the information. Show how your former work makes you a perfect choice for similar voice projects. Let your voiceover profile stand alone, and let your old profiles link to your new information. This way you keep the same connections and alert them of your unique skill sets.

Embrace Technology (or hire your kids): Most working voice artists have professional home studios. Voice talents must learn about recording software and hardware, acoustics, and other related skills. Every day brings new technology into our mist, so this is indeed not an age thing. Learn what you have to through online classes, YouTube videos, LinkedIn or private coaching. It’s a necessary step, and you can do it. Just take it slow and master one new item at a time. Don’t try to learn everything at once. Master the majors like home recording (a software), editing, etc., and move on to other skills. If you have children or know of others with audio, web, or social media skills, ask them to help you or even hire them to do some of the work. You can also contract out the editing until you are comfortable with your new skill sets. Don’t let not knowing something keep you from getting what you need for running your business.

Embrace a Young Attitude: When you’re home behind a microphone, no one can see or care about how old you are, it’s all in the attitude. This is where your field work comes in. Look for opportunities to hang around younger people and listen and interact with them. Listen to the thoughts and ideas of young adults, Millennials, and Gen Xers. Note their tone, inflections, patterns, and attitude. Look for ways to add what you’ve heard and observed into your voiceover delivery. Experiment with speaking like someone much younger (or older) than yourself and review your performance. By noting the way people talk, how they expressed themselves and incorporated these attributes into your performance, you can keep current and sound almost any age you want. My cousin, who is at least 14 years older than me, has a youthful tone that reminds me of a 22-year-old and not her actual age of 60+ years.

Keep it Healthy and Moving: As we age our body and mind needs to keep engaged and healthy. Make sure to monitor your health. As we get older, sometimes we have to deal with mouth noises or diction problems. Make sure that you are taking time to go to the doctor and keeping up with proper dental care. Lastly, daily phonetic warmups can help with diction and word pronunciation.

Staying home is lovely, but it is even more critical for you to get out and move your body. Keeping it moving is whatever gets you moving. Walking is a great exercise. Don’t forget about weekend getaways. A change of scenery is also a great way to keep it moving and recharge your mind. Don’t take the fun out of your life, add a little voice acting to it.

Remember, as you age be timeless not timed. Break that lip!

Learning, Leaving, and Growing in Voiceovers

Business Tips, Personal VO Views, VO Business Tips, Voice over Training

We’ve all started on pursuits that looked fun and assumed that’s for us. But as a voice talent involved in managing and operating a business, it’s important to know what works and what doesn’t. Voice acting is a competitive and exciting business, so talents need to be aware as to what works and respond correctly to the signs of required career changes. Be mindful of what is working and what is not working in your voiceover business through learning, leaving, and growing.

I first learned to ski in my 30’s. The sport seems fun, and although for years I saw the commercial clip of the skier falling down a ski run, I was determined that was not going to be me. After years of hit or miss skiing, today, I spend my ski resort time more on the small slops or the tubing runs. While I took many lessons over the years, I did not take time to hone my craft through regular practice. Over time, I realized that skiing might look fun, but it was not fun falling or poorly navigating the slopes. Skiing is a hazardous sport and not a casual activity. So, when I realized that I was not going to put in the time and effort to be proficient, I learned from my experience and hung up my skis.

Learning – As a voiceover talent, it’s important to know what is working and what is not. Voiceover learning means asking yourself essential business questions truthfully and honestly. Have you been working toward a particular skill set for years and it’s just not working? Are you putting in the hours needed to make your voiceover business successful? Are you effectively marketing to reach those in need of your services? Your response to these questions helps you learn from your efforts and determine what is and is not working.

Leaving – Leave behind the areas of your business that are not working for you. Major manufactures sometimes discontinue specific products that are not selling to concentrate on the products that are making money. In your voiceover business, do you have any areas that are not working well? Is it because the area you are pursuing is not your skill set or because you are not putting enough effort into that area? If it’s effort, you know what to do next. Likewise, if a voiceover genre is not working for you, perhaps it’s time to discontinue in that business area.

Growing – We as humans evolve in our life’s journey. As such, you may have had the “killer instinct” in some area of sport, but as you aged, you may have found that the same inclination for that goal waned over time. As a voice talent, note if it’s time to refocus your business attempts. Look for ways to incorporate sharing your voiceover expertise through your business.

Volunteering your voice talent is an excellent way to grow or help others learn from your experiences. You don’t need to be a seasoned talent to share with others what you have learned in your voiceover journey. It’s amazing how when you open your life and time to giving to others, your mind is opened to new ideas and creativity for growing your business.

Learning, leaving, and growing in your voiceover business helps your stay with what works, set aside what doesn’t, and grow into your future. Keep fine-tuning your voiceover career, and you’ll find yourself heading toward your harbor of success.

Break that lip!

Voiceover Success in Retirement

Business Tips, Personal, Personal VO Views, VO Business Tips, voiceover

A few weeks ago, I blogged my thoughts related to age and voiceovers. We know that you are as young or as old as you sound. You can use marketing to locate the clients that need your voiceover tone and skills. But what about if you’ve retired from a career and want a voice acting career with time for other activities? What if you want time to travel, write a book, volunteer, or other activities? I don’t believe you have to hang up your microphone and dream of becoming a voice talent. It’s all in the time and commitment. Practically plan your voiceover business for enjoying your retirement life.

Time Well Spent. As a retiree, you may have a regular income and not need your voiceover business to pay for all your basic needs. But that doesn’t mean that your business should be regarded as a hobby. Your company should provide a valuable service in exchange for fitting compensation.

To keep the big picture in mind, develop a list of goals for your voiceover income. For example, do you want to travel to a faraway country, or would you like a professional booth for your home studio? What about saving to purchasing the car of your dreams or a camper to see the sights? Develop a list of voiceover profit goals to help you remain focused on your activities. If possible, note your time frame to recall as you work toward your goals daily.

In an article from Forbes.com on the 5 Pitfalls of Starting A Business in Retirement, retires are cautioned of “Misaligning your goals with your lifestyle.” Forbes continues, “Often, retirement entrepreneurs decide to start a business out of boredom and only later realize there are other things they’d rather do with their time.” Make sure you are ready to commit for the long haul.

Days of Our Lives. Let’s say you prefer not to work a 40-hour week as a retiree. I can understand that. So, decide your work days. For example, you may want work 3 to 4 days during the week and leave 1 to 2 days for enjoying other activities. Plan to work your voiceover business 5-6 hours on your work days exclusively performing your voiceover business and no other actions. Also, give yourself the flexibility to move your off-day or days to accommodate any short-notice voiceover projects. The point to make sure you’re actively working your business no less than on a part-time basis.

Wise Learning. The fast pace of technology has not left the voiceover industry on the sidelines. Keep up with the changes in the sectors, trends, styles, and marketing techniques. Make sure you have a good grasp of social media and a strong web presence to remain viable as a business. You want to make sure that although you’re making time for family and perhaps a fishing date, you are still a working voice talent with office hours, products, web postings, and a business plan.

Likewise, use any free or downtime to learn more about the business. Take a couple of voiceover books, podcasts, or videos with you when you travel. You may have downtime at an airport, or while waiting for dinner, etc., to catch up on voiceover tips and skills that you can utilize the next time you’re in your office (so to speak).

As a side note, another essential item to address is mouth clicks. As we age, eliminating mouth clicks can be an uphill battle. Learn how to deal with those pesky clicks and breaths by applying software plugins. The iZotope RX 6 is an excellent tool to address these vocal issues and can significantly reduce your editing time, which saves you time overall.

The Road to Sundown. Remember your business’s timeline. There’s no shame in working your business for just a few years. But remember, it can take five years or more to build up your business and reputation to achieve the voiceover success you desire. So, decide how long is long enough for your voiceover career. See my blog on the Endgame for tips on how to tactfully and professionally close your voiceover career. It’s better to have worked consistently for a few years than to run your voiceover career more as a hobby haphazardly.

Be about your business and make it as fun and rewarding as you’ve imaged. You’ve worked hard to reach your retirement time, so you deserve the recognition. Moreover, make sure you’re operating your new voiceover business like a business. Don’t let your voiceover career fall into your retirement hobbies.

Use proper time management skills and goals for a prosperous voiceover career and favorable time in retirement.

Break a lip!

Failure-Groundwork for Success

Personal, Personal VO Views, Voice over Training, Voice talent renewal

Social media is a great way to communicate what you want the World to see and know about you. We have the luxury of being whoever we want and as perfect as we want others to believe. But we all know no one is perfect, so don’t let human failure be the end of your strive and desire for success. Learn to keep moving after a failure; it’s just a sign that you’re human.

As a member of several professional communities on the Web, I love to read about my colleagues’ new jobs, big clients, and other great voiceover successes. However, I rarely see postings about the lost jobs, voiceover communication that didn’t go well, or the missed goals. Life happens, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but we need to keep failure in the proper perspective. I don’t recommend you note every loss on your voiceover website, but you can appropriately share how you dealt with your loss and how you keep moving toward your success.

Pick up from Failures

No matter how hard we try, mistakes, missteps, and failures will happen. Voiceover has its own unique set of challenges. The business is very competitive and can feel like jumping off a diving board into 12 feet of water after only a hand full of swimming classes. When we are on the other side of what we know was a failed voiceover audition or the loss of a big job, we may feel the loss personally. Moreover, if the event is the result of our mistake or wrong business decision, there’s no way to feel right about it. After a debacle, new talent often question the purpose of their business efforts. A seasoned talent may also think that years of experience can insulate him or her from flops. A major loss may cause them to question their ability as a voiceover performer.

Failure is not usually fatal. The best thing to do is to remind yourself that you are doing your best and sometimes you will miss the mark. Examine your efforts and see what you can learn from the experience. Be a little nice to yourself and keep the loss in perspective. In life, we make many mistakes from the time we first learn to walk through our Social Security years. It’s a part of life not a determiner of life.

Reboot Failure – Success Groundwork

Okay, now that I’ve covered the low point, let’s look at the power of your comeback. A voice actor is like a traveling salesman. We spend time and effort training and getting to know the craft (our voice product), but we can still experience many closed doors (lost auditions or opportunities). Many letdowns may lead to procrastination. We may not fully focus our marketing and auditioning efforts.

But you must continue. Reboot failure by examining the failure and learning lessons from it. Moreover, by sharing your failures and lessons learned with others, you make the failure a part of your success journey. Once again, I don’t believe posting all your faults on social media is wise, but you can tactfully phrase your learned lessons to others as you share your experiences in the voiceover business.

Make your voiceover business fiascos into stepping stone and not brick walls. Remember your most admired voiceover talent and other mentors have made many, many mistakes. Failure can help with the climb to eventual success. Keep moving toward your voiceover goals, especially after unexpected glitches. It’s a good sign that you’re learning, growing, and moving toward your personal development and potential long-term success.

You know…break a lip!

Leesha

Voice Overs