The Business of Voiceover and Setting It Up for Success

Skip the trial and error and move your VO business forward.

The Drive is a 2-hour on-demand voiceover business course that has been crafted to save you years of fumbling. The Drive walks you through each element of the VO business and explains the best approaches to set your path for success as both an actor and an entrepreneur.

In the course, instructor and veteran voice talent Nikki Lu Lowe shares ideas that will inspire, motivate, and fuel your drive forward (while keeping a bit of your sanity so you can rock it on the mic).

The Drive: The Curriculum

The 3 Attributes of Voiceover

Discover the 3 attributes-or keys to success-you need to succeed in voiceover and how important it is to have the drive (or hustle) to run a business in order to thrive in the industry.

Mental Health Tips

Voice acting isn’t just a job. It’s personal. In the Mental Health module, gather tips on staying sane and find examples on how to navigate the highs and lows of our business and the highs and lows of our emotions. 

How to Find your Village

Within thee voiceover industry you'll find a strong community and within the community, you'll find an even stronger village. Learn the importance of having a village and resources to get you started on building one.

Elements of a Business

Every service-based business is made of elements-things that a business needs to have in order to run well. Understand the Elements of Business section gives you a visual on what is need for the business side of your voiceover career. Each element will have a section dedicated to it in the course. 

Types of Voiceover and Demos

There are 2 main demos every voice actor should have but there are many genre specific demos a voice actor could have. Explore all the types of voiceover in detail and how to research having a demo produced.

Building a Brand

Discover ideas on how to change your mind set about brand, thoughts from industry leaders and examples of how some well known companies use brand beyond their logo.

Websites

It can be exciting designing a website but there are a lot of details you need to think about before you get started.  Recognize the different approaches to creating a website, what elements you’ll need and learn about ideas and resources.

Rates

“What are your rates” will be one of the most asked questions you’ll hear so you need to be ready.  Examine ways to approach setting your rates, how to track the rates of different clients and see examples and resources.

Auditions

Auditions are the gems of our business.  Understand the different ways to receive auditions and breaks down the pros and cons of Pay-2-Plays, Agents and Direct Marketing.

Direct Marketing

Direct Marketing is great but figuring out where to start can be overwhelming. Delve into frequently asked question and explains how to break down each question to find your answers.

Accounting

Always seek the advice of a finance professional when you’re moving ahead. In the Accounting section, clearly see the things you’ll need to think about when it comes to invoicing, receiving payments, tracking, reporting and whatever else is needed and gives examples on how I approach some things.

Deconstructing GoalS

Looking at a goal can make even the bravest of us want to run away and hide. Understand how to take a goal and break it down into manageable small tasks and feel ready for any challenge.

Delegating

Trying to do absolutely everything on your own is tough. Delegating is better. Discover experiences and tips on how to identify what can’t be delegated, what can be delegated and how to find the folks to delegate to.

A Day in the Life

What will a day in the life of a voice actor look like? We’re all different so there isn’t one clear picture but you’ll need ideas on how to organize YOUR unique day. Visualize your 'day in the life’ and discover  examples and suggestions on how to do this.

Meet Your Instructor: Nikki Lu Lowe

Hi there, You Powerful Creative Rock Star!

I'm Nikki Lu Lowe - A voice actor 18+ years, business woman of 25+ and a creative hustler since...like...forever.  I'm driven by my love of organizing, brainstorming, and creating clearer paths forward to help voice actors reach their goals.

When I found out voiceover was a full blown industry, my excitement level when through the roof.

I dove in and started to hustle.

Unfortunately, my enthusiasm started to get crushed by the overwhelming tasks of running a business. I found myself making knee jerk business decisions, sometimes discovering they were the wrong decisions and having to clean up the mess.

I felt like I was wasting a lot of time and money with trial and error and wished someone would just explain choices to me. Or I’d find myself just staring at my screen having no idea what task to do because there were so many and each of them had even more mini tasks hiding inside of them.

My frustration shook my confidence in having a successful career in voiceover and that shook my performance on mic. I needed help and didn’t know who to turn to because everyone seemed like they were doing things differently from one another.

It’s been a long journey filled with stumbles and successes and one I’m happy to now be able to share with others on the same road.

So, I decided to craft a roadmap of my experience and share it in a streamlined, welcoming and digestible elearning course paced for everyone.

What They Say

“Nikki has created a terrific, thorough ROADMAP to Voiceover success.  Her years of VO expertise and knowledge make her the perfect mentor to get your career going.”

~ Mary Lynn Wissner, Casting Director/Founder, Voices Voicecasting

“Nikki has crafted this excellent tool for voice actors the same way she approaches anything in her life-  with passion, attention to detail, and open-mindedness.  Plus she narrates this with intelligence and heart.  The chapter breakdowns make it so easy to devote time to the various aspects of a working VO's life without getting overwhelmed with too much information.  Everything from creativity to marketing to inspiration. The Drive is gold.”

~ Thom Pinto, Voice Actor and Coach

"The Drive is the course I wish I'd had when I started my voiceover career in 2014. Nikki Lu Lowe is not only a talented voice actor herself, but a gifted teacher.She has thought of everything anyone needs to know about succeeding in the industry, and organized it into one very well thought-out course.Because of her background in eLearning development, Nikki knows exactly how to create a step-by-step course that hits the mark. The visuals are lovely, her voiceover is (of course) fantastic, and the information is all completely accurate and up-to-date. Anyone who wants to actually make it in this competitive industry would absolutely benefit from taking Nikki's course."

~ Tracy Lindley, Voice Actor and LinkedIn Expert