VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Philip Banks]

How do you sustain yourself financially as a voiceover? The top 3 are 1st Have a wealthy spouse/partner 2nd Have a property portfolio 3rd have a current ATPL.

[Bruce]

With the latter you’d certainly be in demand these days!

A happy, healthy, and prosperous new year to you, Philip!



B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

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

[Mike Paul]

We've been getting by with my day job and wife's income. Others I know waited until their VO income matched their day job, then they made the switch over to full-time VO. Long story short, they don't say "starving actor" for nothin'. Life's easier with a partner of some kind, even if it's just to share the rent expense while single.

[todd ellis]

a spouse with a cadillac health plan helps loads, although you have to plan this sometimes 30 or more years in advance, bear her children, paint the laundry room, etc, etc ... but it's mostly worth it.

i quit the corporate gig when i realized that i was losing money by not being at home working.
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"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

[ConnieTerwilliger]

One of the "lucky" ones here...

Got a union part-time live announcing gig at a local TV station making more than I was making when I was floor directing there full-time. And because I didn't sound like an announcer, I was getting lots and lots of TV and radio spots through the station, which led to getting the best local agent in town, which led to being a "top voiceoverist" in my community of San Diego in the 80's and early 90's (well, except for my arch competition Bobbin Beam).

This work paid the bills, but I used my extra time (I only worked 2 evenings a week 4 to 11 or so) to free lance as a producer/writer and on-camera talent. * (See below for related story)

After moving to a full-time production position at a major defense contractor for about 9 years, where I wore all my hats,,.producer/writer/talent...my free lance voiceover work dried up locally. When they closed the company here in SD in 1994 or so, I had to rebuild my voiceover biz.

That time, I used my free lance producing and writing to carry the day until I was able to build back the VO work. That involved hand-coding a website and getting online with my 2 domains in 1996. Investing in ISDN. Joining the P2Ps, sending out monthly newsletters, cold-calling, etc. etc. I also created and taught an Intro to VO class at City College - which when I first started was just another small source of income.

I am very grateful I never had to go out of my media production community to make $ to pay the bills. But I would have if needed.

** (Here's the story) Funny story - around the time the CA Lottery started, I had just left my 2-day a week job at the TV station and was trying to make it as a free lance producer - before the full-time production job landed in my lap. I was very worried about paying my mortgage at the end of about 6 months and was seriously considering asking my father for some cash. I did not end up having to ask him, but I did not play the lottery for many many years. Here is the way my mind thinks. IF I had borrowed money and IF I had spent if on some lottery tickets and IF I had won, I would be so ashamed that I had spent his money on lottery tickets.

The full-time job appeared just as I was about to start looking for other options.
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Playing for a living...
www.voiceover-talent.com
YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/connieterwilliger

[Moe Egan]

Late to this thread, but you are correct as usual, Mr. Banks. I've written and deleted a dozen responses about the well heeled hobbyists parading as professionals. Best left deleted, but they do get stuck in my craw. However...

If I may blow my own horn- this is what I am unabashedly most proud of in my journey as an Officially Accredited Voiceoverist (replete with pin); that I raised 3 kids as a single mom doing voice work full time. And I put 2 of 'em through college with just my voice- no help from Captain Fabulous (the ex). One kid did get a sweet scholarship, but I still had to fly them back and forth cross country and buy books, lots of books. Not gonna lie, some weeks and months were hard, are hard (lookin at you covid).

Liz and I have a running joke- if we have a light week work-wise, we say to each other, "Well, it's still better than radio pay", and on the weeks where it seems everything that could go wrong DOES go wrong, "At least no one can fire me!". Prior to this, I've never had a job longer than 3 years (radio), I'm coming up on my 18th anniversary.

To answer your question, how do I sustain myself as a voiceover? I have no idea. Seriously, I have no idea what I'm doing. I am a professional bumble bee. Aerodynamically, they shouldn't be able to fly- but they do. Same here.
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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
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[todd ellis]

[Moe Egan]

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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
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