VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Chuck Davis · Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:17 pm Post subject:

True dat Bob. :)
_________________
Wicked huge.....in India.
www.chuckdaviscreative.com

Steve Royal · Guest

I'm not sure that I'm 1, 2 or 3.
I'm the only breadwinner in our household, and I'm trying to get the VO to a point where I (we) can make a living out of it.
I was in radio from the late 70's until the 90's, and then got disillusioned with the direction radio was taking. I went freelance in 1991 and almost starved (but, looking at my figure now, that might not have been a bad thing!).
I decided to go to Uni and got a Honours degree in Biotechnology and my day job has been in biopharm ever since.
But: my first love is VO, and I would gladly throw away the biotech industry in about 3 seconds flat to do it. I'm almost there. However, I could not do this without the backup of a day job at the moment.
Like Diane, we only have a small mortgage, our needs are few and I refuse to go into debt. I'd rather save for what I want!
Heck, I don't even have a credit card (shock, horror!).

voicy1stef · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 4:37 am Post subject:

This discussion is so enlightening and encouraging. I'm not nearly at the point of fulltime vo Cry

so will hold on to the current part-time day job (or something better) and keep beavering away till my dream comes true! I sent a CD to one of the big agencies here, and they said to send them another demo in a few years ( Shocked

) ; so since a lot of their talent are established radio/tv peeps, I guess I need way more experience to join their roster.

Ah well...carry on...lots of other projects to pursue.

sigh..............................

thanks gang...big hug!
_________________
Intuit and do it!

British-American voice artist based in England for the past umpteen years. I say, has it really been that long!

http://www.stefsvoice4u.co.uk
Podcast: Positive Affirmations and Audio Stories, on iTunes, Spotify etc.

Pam · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:36 am Post subject:

Thanks one and all for sharing. Great stories everyone.

And Diane, it's amazing how frugally one can live when one's commission structure is "adjusted" by corporate. "But here's how you can make 30-40% more on your pay" in a down economy with TV advertising down 10-12%. Great timing on their part but a good kick in the pants for me to be sure.

Ben, to your point about not quitting now the day job now, Leo Burnett started his advertising company at the height on the depression. His detractors thought he was crazy for starting a busines in advertising of all things and predicted he would be selling apples on the street like so many other out of work Americans. He persevered and to this day, on every reception floor at Leo Burnett, there is a bowl of apples for visitors to help themselves as a reminder of the power of setting goals, believing on one's dream and succeeding beyond one's expectations. I'm sure he was afraid every day of his new business's beginnings but he pushed through the fear and persevered. I think I'll go have an apple Smile

_________________
Pam Tierney
www.pamtierneyvo.com
imdb profile http://imdb.com/name/nm1941932/

Now what did I come in here for?

Moe Egan · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 11:43 am Post subject:

Great story Pam, and this is a great thread.

Like Todd, I'm not experiencing any downturn in business. I'm meeting or exceeding my weekly quota that I set for myself in January. I'm also looking to up that quota for next year by $500 a week.

Like Diane, my life works on a much smaller scale than most. I don't want to live in NYC or LA, and quite frankly I don't know if I could afford to on what I"m making. But I can pay for my mortgage, guitar lessons, groceries and summer camp on my salary living where I want to live, so I"m good with it.

And having said all that, I'm a 3.
_________________
Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
~~~~~

BenWils · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:18 pm Post subject:

CarynClark · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:38 pm Post subject:

I think I'm the only one without a radio background. Gasp

I quit my day job last year - July 2007. I was in marketing in the financial industry. I was stressed to the max, bored, unchallenged, and wasn't going to go any higher on the ladder.

It occured to me that I needed to find another job, but what? I'd been working from home for so long already, there was no way I could go back into an office environment. Then it occured to me to dig out the vo demo I made WAY back in 1994 on a whim when I was living in NYC. I never did a thing with it...that was in the days of the Ross Reports, etc. I still had my DAT and a 60 cassette tapes I had had made.

I googled vo coaches, found Randy Thomas lived nearby, and well, the rest is history in the making.

I'm a #2. Knock on wood... I'm doing great!! My goal is to be a #3, and I really think I can do it. While my husband enjoys the challenges of his work and he's really good at what he does, I think it's also very stressful... and no one should have to be stressed doing their job. So, I'm going to be a #3 and make my husband very happy! Smile

_________________
Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

AllisonScussel · Guest

Unfortunately, I'm not a #1, 2, nor 3. I am the head of my own household and I'm STILL working in radio. 20+ years in the biz and I work for one of the very few independent owned & operated stations left east of the Mississippi. However; that's not guaranteed to last. Cry

Since the economy in the U.S. has gone down the tubes, so has radio advertising. I've been at the same station for 11 yrs and the owner only has 4 yrs left to pay on the debt. But he doesn't know how long he can last if the advertising dollars continue to fall. We're already working on a skeleton crew.

Since I hold so many positions from on-air, production, traffic manager, accounts receivables, copy writing, and office manager, it's hard to find quality time to audition for VO work. Although I've landed a few decent paying jobs via V123 over the past two yrs, I just don't have the time to devote to VO work the way I should. It's hard when you work 60+ hrs per week at your day job which is also your bread and butter.

I also own my own house, so I don't have the luxury of packing up and moving out anytime soon. Roommate anyone? cool

LOL

TTYL Allison

Chuck Davis · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 5:57 am Post subject:

I was poised to become a #3 in 2008. Things just started to slide in Q4 of 2007...the auto ads...and I decided to stay put in my radio gig. Good thing.

Since then I've seen my vo income shrink to 2006 levels but, I have been marketing more and diversifying. All in all I'm sure I'll survive and realize my fulltime goal sometime in the not to distant future.

On the radio side, things are getting freaky. I've seen lots of freinds who work with other groups end up "on the beach" and recently even seen the company I work for cut bodys. People that were needed...but cut to make things "look good on paper".

In the end I think I'm probably in the best place...radio is going to change dramatically (again) in the coming years. Mobile apps for iphones and the like that can stream content will replace FM radio in cars....and satellite radio too. The good news is that with all the new delivery platforms one thing remains constant....they will all need VO. If anything, there will be more opportunity for homebased VOs and full service writer/producers.
I'm planning on being at that party :)
_________________
Wicked huge.....in India.
www.chuckdaviscreative.com

James Lorenz · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 6:36 am Post subject:

Last October, I decided to give VO a try "full-time" to see if I was cutout for the biz. Our house is paid off, my wife makes very good money and outside of vacations (and wine!) we live a low key lifestyle. I also didn't quit my job as an audio/visual technician, I just went freelance. This gave me the opportunity to have a very flexible schedule.
One year later, I'm still not sure where I stand. I still need to freelance but have been building a foundation of customers slowly. The usual ups-and-downs, peaks and valleys are a challenge but I keep plugging away.
I've moved from a lot of online activity to developing real world relationships which seems to be working. Didn't renew V123 and limit voices.com auditions to very specific criteria.
It's been a challenge but one of the most satisfying experiences I've ever gone through.
Can't wait to make it to #3!
_________________
http://www.jameslorenz.com/notjustvoiceover

Bill Campbell · DC Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 621

I will never rely JUST on VO. I produce commercials for agencies, I voice for other producers, and I do PM drive for a large market radio station.
I work for no one full-time and I pay my own insurance. This set-up gives me freedom and I don't feel that any one of the jobs "own me".

My suggestion is, even if you do very well in VO, do something else too. Just for the diversity. Barista, waiter, stock broker...wait...scratch that one!
_________________
www.asapaudio.com

Diane Havens · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 7:40 am Post subject:

I began my working life as a struggling NY actor, and then, tiring of the struggle, became a full time public school teacher (Drama, English, Media) and enjoyed it greatly. When I had enough time vested in the pension, and I had begun to secure VO work somewhat regularly, building a modest client base from which to work, I made the move. I also have a preteen son to look after and a household to run mostly on my own since my husband travels extensively in his work.

I do little auditioning online nowadays, and have some creative projects I have developed with and for educators, and do well in that market, which is endlessly rewarding. My contacts and credentials serve me well there. I also do live storytelling for school and community groups from time to time. My ultimate goal is to do audio books exclusively.

So I have come full circle, returning to my acting roots!
_________________
Diane

Veni, Vidi, Voci
http://www.dianehavens.com

TheVoiceOfBob · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 8:15 am Post subject:

I'm also a "none of the above", still working 40+ hours a week in IT, plus taking classes to finish my engineering degree, plus my announcing gigs at different venues.
I take what I do in VO very seriously though and have devoted some good money and time towards improving my craft with private coaching. I hope to continue to devote more and more time to the VO world and remove more and more of my other gigs, plus any other obstructions (food, sleep, etc...)
_________________
Try to imagine a world where there is no such thing as hypothetical situations.

The Voice of Bob

bobsouer · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 9:17 am Post subject:

I'm another of those who doesn't quite fit neatly into a single category. I work full time for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; but most of my work there is as a voiceover talent, writer and producer for radio and a voiceover talent for various other departments (on-hold phone prompts, narrations for television and web, etc.) so while it's a full-time job it's very well lined up with my passion for voicoever work.

I also work full-time as a voice actor for lots of other clients. Documentaries, audiobooks, commercials, eLearning, training films, radio imaging, and other stuff that I can't really categorize. When I say I'm doing that full-time what I mean is that I'm making more doing the voiceover work that I do from my day job.

Assuming things continue on the path they have been on the last 2 years, I'll be ready to finish my transition to just doing voiceover work full time jobs sometime in 2009.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express