Personal VO Views Archives - Page 5 of 5

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!

Business Practice Friday: What’s in it for you?

Business Tips, Personal VO Views, VO Business Tips, Voiceover Clients

As a small business owner, I share the same concerns as those outside of the voiceover industry. For that reason, I pass along business tips I believe can be useful in almost any business with an online presence. Look for my Business Practice Friday Facebook and Twitter (#BusinessPracticeFriday) tips for information that may be just what you need for your business.

While being in business is not the same for all, those using the Web for all things commerce related have similar essential needs. From voice producers to those listening to final audio, we all need to know how to balance our social media campaigns, web presence plus the tone and timber of our communication. To me, the Web is like a vast ocean, so navigating cyber water is not for those who are prone to seasickness.

Running a business includes other skills like personal care, interaction with employees and partners, plus emotional intelligence. You can’t run a business successfully without looking at all sides of the process.

The information I share includes effective social media campaign strategies, trends in voice overs, time management tips, how to maximize downtime, and more. Also, I’ll share some “soft skills” tips like online etiquette, interpersonal exchange tactics for making clients into friends (or keeping clients as clients), etc.

If you come across some useful business information you’d like to share, feel free to send me a note or comment on my webpage. There is an African proverb that says,

If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

See you Friday, and break a lip.

Voiceover In Changing Seasons

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

As changing temperatures make their way across the North American landscape, many residents are experiencing fluctuating personal lives. Voice actors can be sensitive to environmental changes as well, mainly since heath and surroundings can affect an actor’s performance. Make sure you’re anchored in good habits to keep your voiceover business adaptive in all seasons.

During the fall, many voice actors must take extra precautions to maintain good health. A seemingly small cough can lead to a sore throat or even loss of one’s voice. No voice means no voiceover revenue. Moreover, an unexpected financial challenge can drastically interrupt the flow for a working talent or eat away at efforts to end the current year in the black. A prudent voice talent must accept the fact that life will have its challenges. No one is living a problem-free life. The best way to address inevitable changes are to prepare for them.

Wear a Hat

Sometimes, the most obvious things can slip right by us. I once met a singer/songwriter who believed that a serious artist should always wear a hat when outside temperatures fall below 55 degrees Fahrenheit (or about 12 Celsius). His thought was that we must cover and protect the entrance ways into the body. Go ahead and treat yourself to that Fedora, Deerstalker, Gatsby, or Sunbonnet; it’s your first line to defend against the outside elements.

Maintain Your Health

Practicing good health is not a guarantee of staying healthy. However, good health will help make a recovery from sicknesses a lot faster and better overall. Practicing habits like getting yearly checkups, staying current with health shots, eating balanced meals, and exercising regularly can help keep you at your best. My suggestions are not new information, but over the long run, the tips could mean the difference between being ready or not for that long voiceover project requiring your best stamina and health.

Be Voiceover Business Current

Make sure your billing and communication are updated each week. If you’re unable to communicate with potential and current voice clients for a week or two, you will wish you were up to date before the unexpected happened. If you remain current in your regular business practices, your voiceover business should be there or not far away when you’re able to return where you left off.

Be Ready for Change

With the seasons of life, some changes are permanent. Maintain associated voiceover and other skills that can help fill the gap if you cannot perform vocally for some period. Many good seasoned voice talents become coaches, marketing advisors, or perform business-related services that help fill-in revenue during times when the voice is healing for whatever reason.

Consider swapping services with other talents to keep afloat during challenging times. As a successful business owner, a little forward thinking and preparation for keeping your voiceover business running during changes times can lead to longevity and keep you in the minds of your current and potential clients.

The time is always right to plan for your seasons as a voiceover pro. You’re the best, so break that lip.

Thankfulness from the Heart – Real Voiceover

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

This week, we approach the traditional time for the United States’ Thanksgiving Holiday. You may wonder what Thanksgiving has to do with voiceovers? Thankfulness is a heart emotion. A successful, compassionate voice talent with a thankful heart applies the passion to scripts and performances to touch his and her listeners. Take time this week to consider the importance of being grateful and let the feeling radiate through your voiceover performance.

Why being thankful is Important

Today, thankfulness is considered old-fashioned. We demand our rights, to be seen, and for justice. While we have the right to seek what we feel we need, that constant aggressive assertiveness can drain our spirit. When we take time to be thankful, it allows us to examine our here and now. While no one has a perfect life and there is more than enough real suffering, we all can find at least one thing to give thanks. This brief appreciation helps to calm our spirit.

What’s more, we usually can easily find someone who does not have what we have or any possibility of a better existence. If we take the time to count what we have, we can always find something to appreciate in our lives. Perhaps we landed an excellent voice-over job, made a new friend online, or are still among the small pool of working voiceover talent in a very competitive field. Being thankful helps you see your life in a better light.

Thanksgiving is Infectious

When you appreciate others, not just your clients, it spreads. For example, if you say thank you to someone who holds open a door for you, bags your groceries, etc., you usually receive a smile from that person. With so few expressing appreciations for the smallest gestures of kindness, your recognition is almost unexpected and even more appreciated.

Likewise, sending voiceover clients’ thank you cards, emailing your voiceover coach a note of appreciation, and letting others in and out of your business circles know of your gratefulness helps others develop a good opinion of you as a person. Thankful people are usually “nice” people. People like doing business with nice people. Sincere niceness is a real fruit of gratitude.

You Get What You Give

Have you ever dined in a restaurant with a group of people and noticed the way customers treat the wait staff? Most waiters try hard to provide excellent service, but sometimes he or she may be having a difficult time or day that may be evident in their service. Instead of lashing out at the waiter, look for ways to express kindness and patience. In most cases, you will receive appreciation from the wait staff for your understanding. This, in turn, will give you a good feeling, especially if you take the time to notice if the person is doing their best to correct or improve the service.

One day, you may be having a bad day with a live voiceover audition or in a directed session. This may also be the day when someone shows you understanding and patience like you’ve demonstrated to another. While it may not make sense, look for ways to express appreciation and thankfulness. It will surely come back to you.

From the Heart, the Mouth Speaks

Your thankful attitude has a way of calming your spirit and relaxing your whole body — thankfulness effects all your joints, mussels, and even your thinking. Voice acting takes the entire person. The foundation of a thankful spirit will help you reach your best potential. The heart does speak through the mouth. With a grateful heart, your mind can connect with others for a dynamic vocal performance.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Leesha

Voice Overs