My original hypothesis that people are getting stuck and quitting is very real. There is commonality around the frustrations and sticking points. The problem is definable.
Which means the solution is definable.
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One of the most common concerns for new voice actors as they begin their voice-over journeys is, “I don’t have any (or very few) credits to my name. I haven’t worked with anyone (or very many) clients yet. How do I still market myself and what do I do?”
It’s the classic college grad’s dilemma, right? “How will anyone hire me with no experience and if no one hires me how will I get any experience?”
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We’re highly adept at blaming external circumstances and other people, and not so good at looking inward, analyzing our beliefs about ourselves and the world, and adopting… choosing… beliefs that free us and allow us to realize our potential.
True for humans. True for voice actors and freelancers.
But how do limiting beliefs show up in our psyches and businesses as voice actors? Here are some examples…
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“I’m having trouble consistently training 3 times a week, and once or twice makes no sense, and surely going more will be even more challenging, right?”
Wrong.
Enter, The 100% Rule.
The 100% Rule is a paradox. It says that 100% commitment is in reality easier than 98% commitment.
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Motivation is the emotion, the feeling, that drives your actions.
The problem with emotions is, as powerful as they can be, they’re fleeting. Temporary. Some than longer than others. They wax and wane. They’re inconsistent. And when what drives your actions is inconsistent, your actions themselves can’t help but be inconsistent.
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As I’ve written, I spent just about all last Fall talking to as many voice actors as I possibly could.
One of the things I was most curious about was what are the biggest frustrations voice actors face in today’s world. This was my way of trying to find out what’s holding people back, what do they find vexing, and what do they need help with.
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Entrepreneurship and freelancing have stretched me and forced me to grow in ways I never imagined and often scared the hell out of me, both for which I am eternally grateful. I’ve learned so much about myself that in the almost 50 years before becoming a full-time voice actor I never knew.
As we turn to the new year, I have some things I wish for you. Where appropriate, I’ve listed a book that helped teach me that lesson.
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Businesses, especially businesses who sell to other businesses (B2Bs) set their own rates as the seller at whatever they deem necessary, within what the market will tolerate. They don’t go groveling to their customers every year and beg.
Many voice actors and freelancers, the overwhelming majority of whom have likely been employees at some point, carry this submissive seller mindset into setting and maintaining professional rates.
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Setting goals is nice. The problem is, that’s where most people stop. Goal setting is merely a starting point.
Goals are nothing but directional headers. Every team, even the worst team in the league, wants to win the Championship. It’s not the goal that separates the winners from the losers. This notion that better goals produce better outcomes is hogwash.
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A couple of weeks ago, I detailed why I set out to chat with 60 voice actors in 60 days. I'm at about 80% of my goal so far.
I haven’t analyzed, or even really peeked at the data, yet, so what I’m about to tell you is subjective and anecdotal based solely on my impressions.
So far, here’s some of what I’m learning…
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I’ve had the sense for the last two to three years, well before the pandemic, that there are a lot of folks struggling in this business. I feel like we do a really good job as an industry of getting people trained up on acting, technique, and performance, and we get them enough training to be able to competently record, edit, and deliver a quality audio voice track in a room that’s treated and sounds professional.
And then we send these freshly trained voice actors out into the world and wish them luck.
And they go, “Uh… ok…. What do I do now?”
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Not all the work you do will be in the sweet spot if you expect to have a successful business. But that’s not the point. Often the work you do will be outside your niche, especially as you expand your competency in more genres.
The point is knowing what work satisfies all three criteria for you in order to determine the work that you’ll spend most of your time, effort, and resources pursuing.
The work offered to you will somewhat differ from the work you pursue.
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I recently came across a video on YouTube by a voice talent whose stance was that it’s ok to charge $5 for a voice-over in certain circumstances, notably for new voice talent who wanted to get potential buyers to “try” or “sample” their wares.
Good idea? Not if you want to be in business.
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The Pareto Principle says that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. Other names for this principle are the 80/20 rule and the law of the vital few. For me, prospecting is one of the vital few. In fact, I’d say in my case prospecting has more of a 90/10 effect. It’s 10% of my time that leads to 90% of my success.
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It’s not the mic.
It’s not the audio interface.
It’s not how your room is treated, or which DAW you use. It’s not how much you practice and it’s now how much coaching or how reputable and effective your coach is.
The most important factor in the success of your voiceover business is…
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I ended last week with an unfortunate call. My first clue was the email signature of the person in which they listed 11 companies of which they are the CEO and Chairman, 10 of which included the word "International." Classic puffery.
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Last week I addressed the question, “Do you need Source-Connect for live, remote sessions?”
This week, we’ll look at sessions that are live, but not remote, and take a deeper look at the options and capabilities of each.
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One of the questions I get often from students is, “What is Source-Connect and should I get it”?
Source-Connect is a digital connection application for remote audio recording and monitoring, voice-over, and ADR recording. Essentially, it’s an app you can download and buy a license to (either outright or via monthly subscription) that allows you to connect to other Source-Connect studios worldwide.
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