The start of something new can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. It’s a similar feeling to stage fright; no matter how many times you’ve nailed rehearsing your lines in front of the mirror and told yourself, “I’ve got this,” you still have some worry that something may go wrong when it comes to showtime. Starting up your own voice-over business doesn’t have to be a nerve-wracking experience. If anything, it’s exciting! You’re not working on anyone else’s clock besides your own. So, keep at a steady pace and remember it’s not a race.
Our talented staff at Such A Voice have been where you may be right now – behind the drawing board of a soon-to-be voice-over business. While you’re in the beginning stages, it’s good to connect with others who have gone through the process themselves and have successfully created their own business. Our staff is here to offer their advice on what mistakes you should avoid when starting up your voice-over business.
Mistake #1: Not having a business plan that is realistic and workable, with reachable goals. – Angela Castonguay, Head Voice-Over Demo Producer
Your business plan needs to be realistic, something you can work with and find success with. Angela says, “If you don’t have a solid plan, it’s like driving to a new vacation destination without a map; it’s going to take forever to find your hotel.”
Mistake #2: Focusing too much on landing “the next client.” – Heather Costa, Chief Fulfillment & Content Officer
New leads are important, as they can become long term clients, but there should be a greater emphasis on your repeat clients. These are the clients who you work with more than once. They keep going back to you because they see success from your services and most importantly, they trust you. As Heather puts it, “The repeat clients are the ones that will give you the stability and success of a long-term career. Creating strong relationships and nurturing your existing clients is key when running a business.”
Mistake #3: Trying to do it all. – Joleene Derks, Marketing and Career Advisory Coach
While this is your own voice-over business, it doesn’t mean that you have to be doing everything alone. You may be a master of the voice-over world, but web design and social media management may go right over your head. The best way to prevent yourself from burning out is to ask for help when you need it. Simply put by Joleene: “Outsourcing is okay.”
Mistake #4: Having false expectations. – Brian Thon, Live Class Instructor
Brian followed up with a great example of a false expectations scenario. Say that you have an amazing website that showcases everything that you want people to know about your business. You then expect that your mailing list will grow and your inbox will be flooded with messages. Although it’s beneficial to have a professionally designed website, it doesn’t automatically mean that you’ll be getting a lot of inquiries just by having one. Brian suggests sending your website link out proactively as part of your marketing plan because relying on random site visitors to contact you is likely going to be a long wait.
Mistake #5: Don’t market yourself until you have the goods to sell. – Rosemary Chase, Voice-Over Coach
And by goods, Rosemary means that you must be able to record your reads properly when submitting an MP3 audition and you must be able to offer very different takes of the script.
Mistake #6: Making a homemade amateur demo. – Lisa Foster, Live Class Instructor
This one relates to mistake #2: trying to do it all. Leave it to the demo production pros to help you out with creating your demo since that’s their specialty. An amateur demo stands out easily to professional voice-over agencies (and not in a good way), so you’ll want to make sure you have a professionally produced demo.
Mistake #7: Not continuing to practice just as much as you did during your voice-over training. – Tia Sorensen, Voice-Over Coach
Practice, practice, practice. You probably hear that a lot and there’s a good reason for it. It can be easy to let that slide as you’re putting together other necessary pieces to your voice-over business, but you have to keep your skills up so you’re prepared when those auditions and jobs come along.
A new start can appear to be challenging before it even begins, but think about it like this: once it’s showtime, the passion and fire within you will come alive and you’ll be reminded of why you do what you do. Don’t forget about what inspired you to have your own voice-over business in the first place. Keep that drive going and keep this advice from our staff in the back of your minds when starting your business. Best of luck to you as you begin this exciting process!
We always enjoy hearing your feedback, so join the conversation and see what’s trending about Such A Voice!
