I’m often approached by people for advice about “the voice-over business “.  There are many resources available to new people, some excellent, others less than legitimate. These are just some random suggestions that are far from a complete plan, that someone will find useful.

To start, never, ever pay money for agency representation, and hang on to your bucks.

While being in business for yourself is clearly attainable, you must look before you make the leap, and map your journey in advance.  It will certainly help to have certainly saved up about six months’ to a year of living expenses while bootstrapping the new venture. 

Ditch the Ego

If you’re feeling a certain sense of entitlement, reconsider. Ego is rampant in show business. Yes, some ego is needed to be in business for yourself and inherent in the creative process   But, Never take anything for granted in this economy and in this business.  To succeed you can only count on hard work and persistence. A certain measure of ego is needed, but place your efforts into becoming useful and valuable. Rather than rehash and list things already out there, I’ll provide some of my own general tips which apply to most job seekers and sound business people. 

Ask and answer the right questions. Remember, you’ll be required to wear many hats, including selling yourself as a talent in an already highly competitive marketplace.

What hole are you going to fill? What problems are you going to solve? Who is your customer? How will you reach him or her? What are your rates? How many customers will you need to be profitable? Test your assumptions, execute the plan, and restate your goals, updating quarterly or as needed. 

To Market to market

Being customer-centric is critical, and make sure you get out and meet some of them, face to face.  There’s a high likelihood that you’ll find potential clients in your locale.  The marketing portion of any business plan is most important. It’ll be worth it in the long run to take your time to get it right. 

Have the right Associations

Are you hanging out in the right places with the right people, or are you preaching to the choir? If all you do is chat with people who’ll never provide a snowball’s chance of offering legitimate voiceover work, you’re wasting previous time.   This goes for online and face to face connections.  The most direct route to a job is to your associations. Think about it.  Associations are not only singular peeps, but also organized groups.  There are a number of the right places to not only join, but to become involved in, both virtually and face to face.  You can market your services to everyone you interact with, but your chances are better in producers’ associations and the like.

Seek your passion

In these interesting economic times, and lackluster employment rolls, many are opting to take control of their own destinies and release themselves for the prospect of the layoff by someone with the power. Train and/or  find a mentor.

Be Realistic

Not everyone will be the next Pixar, or video game or commercial voiceover star. Focus on an area that best suits your vocal strength. Outfit your recording space with the best technology you can afford for now. Starting out simply is a good idea, especially when you don’t have a lot of money to invest.

Most communities have small business development centers where you can get low or no cost help with your plan.  If you don’t plan, you’ll plan to fail.