It'd be super sweet to book a national commercial campaign right after you finished taking voice over acting and mic technique classes.
But - while you should still definitely try - you shouldn't expect to work at the top of a field you just entered professionally.
So where are the smaller jobs that can build up your resume and experience?
Where are the gigs that can create regular work for you and help you gather demo material to get the attention of an agent?
I've been a working voice over talent since 2004 and I switched to full time in 2008. Some of my past clients include Facebook, POM Wonderful, CBS, Capital BlueCross, American Red Cross, EA Sports, Gillette, SiriusXM, KFC, and Mary Kay, to name a few.
While I run a fully functioning voice over business today, it all started back when I finished my own training. I knew I was good. But in order to get the attention of an agent, I needed to show them work I was doing. Yet I didn't have a strategy and couldn't find the training for how to get work outside of an agent that would build me up to a point that I would be a smart bet for an agent to sign.
It took me four years to figure it out. Which is why I created the Workflow of VO - so you could have the blueprint I was looking for. The one that moves your voice over career forward to becoming a working voice over talent.
LESSON ONE
Getting Started
In this lesson, I show you exactly how simple it is to set up your voice over workspace. I cover your space, your recording and editing software, your microphone, and your audio interface.
LESSON TWO
Demos
Learn how to make your first demo and also how to make genre specific demos later.
LESSON THREE
Where To Find the Work
This is where it gets good! I break down all of the ways that I know of to find voice over jobs today.
LESSON FOUR
Auditioning
This lesson covers strategies on how to select the best auditions for you. Then it dives into the best way to create the audition, followed by exactly how to submit it in ways that will stand out.
LESSON FIVE
Executing the Job
Okay you booked a job, now what?! This lesson covers ALL the ways you can execute a voice over job so that you'll know exactly what do do when it's 'GO' time.
LESSON SIX
Maintaining Your Business
Finished the job you booked? Turned in all your auditions for the day? Learn what else you can do to keep the work coming.
BONUS VIDEOS!
Warm ups and Negotiations
I share my favorites exercises from my personal warm up routine. Many of the things I show you in this video for better lung capacity and better enunciation are NOT taught in voice over classes.
My bonus video on the art of negotiation is a MUST for anyone who wants to enjoy the process of getting paid for doing what you love. I offer a different mindset to have that will give you the right perspective when negotiating your next job.
But I was always in plays and musical theater and I knew I wanted to be a performer in some way.
I figured out, while pursuing acting in Los Angeles, that I had some talent and potential to be a voice over professional - and that was a great place to start.
If you start with knowing you've got real potential (i.e. people have told you that you have a great speaking voice, or that you are a good performer, or better yet, you received good feedback in a voice over class you took), YOU WILL GET OUT OF VO WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT.
Period.
There have been times in the last 16 years that I considered myself a full time, professional voiceover talent, full court press.
And those years were very very lucrative.
I have many peers who do this full time and consistently earn $100k-$500K per year every year.
But, at the end of the day, year, or decade, I am so much more than a voice over talent!
I'm a mom, a wife, an online content creator, a singer, a video editor...I could go on and on:)
I'm just trying to say I have other dreams too!
Voiceover work is especially valuable for me because I can take any year, dial it back with voice over, and go after other stuff too, without starving.
For example, last year, my husband and I ran two Airbnbs in downtown Seattle that were POPPIN'. He also worked full time as a chef at a restaurant. We also had a one year old AND we had a baby in March. I worked between 1 and 12 hours a week doing voice over last year. I would say the average was about 5-6 hours a week.
Basically an hour a day, when the babies were down for their nap at the same time.
I earned $52,600.62.
Not too shabby.
And this year HOLY TOLEDO am I grateful that this is what I do so I can support my family, working from home, during these uncertain times.
If you are interested in voiceover, I say GO FOR IT and don't let anything stop you. The time is NOW! Yes things are changing every day - but they always have and they always will. Voice over is not only NOT going anywhere for a long time, it's growing every day.
There IS room for you if you are willing to put in the work that will build a career off of your talent.
Hope to have you in the course:)
"Your class covered so much about how to handle the "business" of VO…so much I didn't know…you demystified what was scary and a block for me."
- Vartan N.
"I recently took your voice over course and absolutely loved it. I found it extremely informative and relatable."
- Sophia P.
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