VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Adam Verner · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:17 am Post subject: My first year as a full time VO

One year ago today I quit the day job, rented an office, and made the transition from part-time voice over actor to full-time. (!!!)

I want to say thank you for all the advice and tips I received from this board, they were instrumental in my first year roller coaster. I found the “Voice over form the trenches” panel at Voice2010 very interesting - a lot of VOBBers spoke about making it in the industry and their own transitions. A common theme seemed to be "I was laid off," or else there seemed to be another precipitating incident.

Mine came early last October when my 2nd paycheck bounced. At the time I was working for a web design and internet marketing company. I had just finished my MFA in acting here in Chicago, and was eager to ramp up the voice over business. I took this as a sign and jumped ship (along with about every other employee).

This first year has been a dream come true, an answer to prayers, and way more stressful than I ever imagined. Added to the stress of starting this business full time, I met, wooed, engaged, and will be marrying my dream woman in a few months Smile

Granted, I had to take a trip to China to convince her to move back for me, but it was worth every penny. While by objective accounts it has been a good year, at times it doesn’t feel that way due to the instability of this career. Thinking ahead of supporting a family this way gives me the willies.

My grandparents met in the theatre, my parents met in the theatre, and now I'm following in their footsteps. My father was a voice actor and radio jockey. He passed away in a car accident when I was 15, so he never got to see me on stage, never got to hear an audio book of mine or a radio commercial. This year is for him.

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For those interested in fun stats and numbers, here are some interesting observations about his year:
102 bookings total
20 came from agents , or 19.6%
82 from my own efforts, or 80.4%

However, 40% of my income came from the agents, with 60% on my own. So while I did less work through my agents, they tended to be the higher paying jobs. I don't know if this trend will continue or flip flop as time goes on.

I’m interested in seasonality, since that will make planning easier in the future. One year isn’t enough time to see trends, but here’s how the work panned out for this last year:

So. My next year starts now – what will it bring?
_________________
Adam
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Natural Voice
adamverner.com
adamverner.com/blog
twitter.com/adam_verner
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bobsouer · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:28 am Post subject:

Adam,

It is a wild roller-coaster kind of existence, no question. Thank you for sharing what this journey has been like so far. I wish you well as you continue to move forward.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

Lizden · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:40 am Post subject:

Adam,
Congratulations!
Yep, it's a wild ride, but you have the right attitude!
May this year be better than the last and may it continue to be so!

& Congrats on your impending nuptials!
We expect pictures! Smile

_________________
Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

Drew · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:41 am Post subject:

Ya gotta like the "willies".
_________________
www.voiceoverdrew.com
Skype: andrew.hadwal1
Although I have a full head of hair, I'm quite ribald.

Philip Banks · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:41 am Post subject:

Year 1 under your belt - Congratulations.

The end of year 2 will see you established which simply means you make the transition from not knowing what's happening all of the time to not knowing what's happening MOST of the time.

People who know me well only ever ask me 1 work related question.

"How's business ....................any idea?" To which my response is always.

"Not really. I just sort of blunder about in the vain hope that something will turn up sooner or later"

SkinnyJohnny · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:48 am Post subject:

Hi Adam,
I guess everyone is different, but I've been trying to see seasonal trends since I started doing voice over work in the mid 80s. I still see no seasonal trends. Like Bob said, it's a rollercoaster. I think you might see trends if your work is highly specialized, but not so much if you do a variety of vo work.
Much success in year two!!!
John
_________________
John Weeks Voice Overs
www.johnweeksvoiceovers.com

Bruce · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:51 am Post subject:

Success begets success. Congratulations!

Keeping charts of income is interesting, but I've had quiet summers followed by blisteringly busy summers. I used to try to vacation between December 20th and January 3rd because business was so lackluster, but I've had many a winter vacay punctuated with lots of work too. Just be consistent in your marketing efforts and nurture those regular clients and things will even out (somewhat) in the end.

B
_________________
VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

todd ellis · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:37 am Post subject:

congrats on putting year one behind you!

Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 9:17 am Post subject:

i for one appreciate the blundering about aspect of the bizzzzzzzzzzz.
_________________
sitting at #8, though not as present as I'd like to be. Hello!

www.d3voiceworks.com

Moe Egan · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 9:24 am Post subject:

Congratulations on Year One!! I think for sure the first year is the hardest. Continued success and growth for Year Two and beyond. Smile

Pam · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 10:03 am Post subject:

Congrats on making through the first year. It's all uphill from here! Just kidding. I'm a big fan of looking back and assessing one's progress over the months and years. May your earnings go up from here and the process get easier over time.

Mazel tov on your life changes!
_________________
Pam Tierney
www.pamtierneyvo.com
imdb profile http://imdb.com/name/nm1941932/

Now what did I come in here for?

captain54 · Lucky 700 Joined: 30 Jan 2006 Posts: 744 Location: chicago

very cool.....I saw your Audiobook Workshop is being offered at Bosco Studios....interesting.

funny, your percentages of work gotten thru agents vs work gotten on your own is exactly flipped from what mine is...go figure

CC Heim · Backstage Pass Joined: 27 Sep 2010 Posts: 401

thanks for sharing your story! I quit my full time job in January, so I'm coming up on a year soon too. YAY for us!

Lee Gordon

Zak Miller · Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 1:42 pm Post subject:

Adam,
Congrats on the one year anniversary!

The first week I was in the freelance world a seasoned talent called me and said these words
"The first year you will starve, the second you will break even, and the third year you will start to feel comfortable."

Dang it if he wasn't correct!

Keep it up man, the only one stopping you is you!