Information on getting started in the Voice Over, Voice actor industry.
It’s a business!! Repeat this to yourself, “I’m starting a SEPARATE ENTITY called a business”.
Repeat this as often as you need to until you understand that sentence. Many people treat a business as a personal checking account backup.
IT ISN’T.
Your first, primary, most important, overarching job is making money for THE BUSINESS. Then, if you do, as the business manager, you decide what value you have and compensate yourself accordingly.
Bud light has at least 13 products starting with the words, #budlight. #MountainDew, more than 33. If you took someone that loves BL and handed them a “Bud Light Lime-A-Rita” (one of SIX flavors)- would they recognize it as a BL? I don’t know BL, but I’m thinking “no” is the answer.
Same with the versions of MD. Code Red, Live Wire, Pitch Black, and my personal name, “White out”. One hopes this is about snow and not an office supply! So how are you extending your brand in a way that makes sense in your niche?
This week I started a service writing blogs and articles for those that need motorcycle and travel related content. We’ll see how that goes. After writing marketing and sales copy for years, I’m hoping to gain traction there.
What brand extensions can you think of?
Let’s talk about starting your own business. NOT a #voiceover business, ANY business. It takes a mind-set not everyone is geared for, and that’s okay! I talk about several places to go for help SBDC (https://americassbdc.org/), SCORE (https://www.score.org/) are two, FREE resources to help you start.
Do some soul-searching. Are you okay with NOT making any money next week? How long can you go without income? How can you start “today” with little money and how far can you get doing that? Are you okay with working for periods with no day off? This is a BUSINESS mental attitude/aptitude question more than it is about voice acting.
Talk to someone you know that owns and operates a business. Buy them a coffee and ask what you need to look out for. Good luck! I’m happy to chat for a few minutes or do a paid mentoring session.
Chat link- 15 minute free session Paid mentoring session link.
This is #3 on Grant’s Sound Advice on getting started in a #voiceover career. The first two videos concentrated hard on “the Space” (cue Star Trek music). This morning I came up with the BRILLIANT (just ask me) idea on how to evaluate your space. Grab a ping pong ball off that table you bought three years ago and have only played on twice. Walk into each room you’re considering. Toss the ball at a wall or the floor. Count the bounces. Every bounce is one too many. I’m not sure about the science behind this, but I think its related. I’ve been in professional studios where walls and floors would bounce a ball, certainly. But they’ve spent big bucks mitigating that bounce in other ways. Anyhow… If you do this in your home, you’ll quickly find the space with the fewest bounces. Start there. I also mention another type of fort, the “Pillow Fort”.
Getting started in Voice Over. A quick starter on “the space” you record in. So, you want quiet? Go read this article and start saving your money!! We need quiet space without ‘other’ noise like mowers and HVAC, even creaky floors. Are you in a condo or apartment where you have NO control over the noise made by the neighbors? These are all issues that need to be considered as you consider a VO career! I see many people so focused the OCD of minutiae (say: how to seal an outlet cover that backs another room to prevent sound waves from leaking in) that they miss the huge parts that are way more important!! Here’s some dB ratings to consider: https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/what_noises_cause_hearing_loss.html #SoundAdviceFromGrant
If I can help you on your VO journey, please let me know!
