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Resolve To Be Resolute

December 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

resolutionEmbarrassment is a huge motivator.

It’s behind the fear of public speaking, the shame of failing, and the guilt of broken promises.

For that reason, many have urged the open sharing of goals with friends, acquaintances, and public forums.  The psychology behind this posits that the embarrassment of NOT keeping your word will spurn you on to make good on your public promises.

Bare your soul, and keep your goals.

However, at least one new study shows this is untrue.  A survey showed that subjects stayed on the task of completing their resolutions LONGER if they kept it private, and that publicly announcing their intentions leads to complacency.

READ THE RESULTS AT SIDSAVARA.COM

The article also offers the following suggestions:
1)  Tackle one resolution at a time
2)  Write down your resolutions
3)  Commit your resolutions to a friend
4)  Have your friends keep you accountable
4)  If you’re serious about making change,
you actually have to MAKE the resolutions.

You are all my friends, so I’m going to tell you about my resolutions (which I will tackle one at a time), and I expect you to hold me accountable.  OK?

Here they are in order of importance:

1) Start landing commercial bookings from my auditions
-redo my commercial demo
-seek specific coaching on booking commercial spots
-upgrade my commercial website
-sign with active agents
-take feedback, criticism, and advice seriously
-put my ego aside

2)  Get better control of my business finances (already in process)

3)  Actively pursue Customer Relationship Management skills
-develop and maintain pertinent mailing lists
-engage in directed follow-up
-monthly newsletter to clients and prospects?

4)  Parlay Social Media skills into more job leads

5)  Ensure the success of WoVO both in numbers and by
winning new allegiances.

6)  Launch new weekly or monthly webinars on Social Media
Tactics for Voice Actors.

There!  That shouldn’t be too hard, huh?  It’s OK, I always bite off more than I can chew, then end up taking on even more unforseen tasks before the year is up that move to a higher priority on the list.

The important thing is that I’m thinking about it, and I have a plan.

Above all, though, for the next few days, I’m going to be spending time with my daughters, who are all with me now, and as a family, we’re going to be taking some personal time at Tahoe with some other friends.  I’ll be scarce, but not entirely off the grid (I never really am).  However, I may not return to regular daily blog posts until sometime after the New Year…or the posts may seem of a more personal  and picturesque nature.

‘Hope you’ll check back for a look-see while you think about your OWN New Year’s resolutions.

Best to you in 2013!

CourVO

Filed Under: Advice Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Here’s a Scary Thought for Halloween…

October 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

…there are just two months left to 2012!

…and if you are into the whole Mayan Calendar prediction…there’s not even that much time. (but the positive side to THAT school of thought:  you won’t have to worry about buying Christmas presents!).

I point all this out…not to overstate the obvious, but to perhaps offer a few creative suggestions for getting your VO house in order for the end of the year, and in anticipation for 2013.

I’ll be pedantic and use a mnemonic: FOCUS.

FACE the remaining two months with a can-do attitude.   Sure, all those great political commercials are gone, now, but what about Christmas and other holiday client opportunities?  Get out there and make November and December count on your 2012 profit/loss statements!  (BTW, “F” also stands for FaffCon6 in San Antonio)

OUTSOURCE the difficult, lingering, overbearing, or stressful jobs that you’ve been procrastinating to another freelancer who can get you over the hump (editing, bookkeeping, web-authoring).  You can’t do everything yourself, and you give another freelancer some work!

CUT your losses and move on.  There’s surely something in your method, your business plan, your workflow, or your audio chain that’s been a thorn in your side all year.  Sure, you spent a lot of time or money to make that thing happen (and maybe you’re even proud of it), but if it’s slowing you down, or a constant irritant…it’s time to let it go!

UNDERSCORE to your slow-paying clients that the end of the year is nigh, and it’s time to pay up.  Don’t be rude, just firm.  They’ll respect your business acumen, and YOU for standing up for yourself!

SCRIPT a plan for the new year now. Revamp your business’ goals.  Are your books in order for the tax-man?  What conferences are you going to atttend in 2013?  Time for a new demo?  When’s the last time you were coached?  Is it finally time for a new computer?  You know.  YOU KNOW what it is that needs a fresh look.  Plan it!

Honorary mention:  Give a pat on the back to those who have helped you along the way.  Maybe it was a small thing to them, but you need to let them know what a big thing it was to you.  A word of appreciation goes a lo-o-o-o-o-o-ng way.

Happy Halloween!

CourVO

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Diminishing Returns

August 8, 2012 By 1 Comment

When the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was in Las Vegas in January, I made a B-Line for the Blue Microphones booth so I could drool.

I wrote about that visit in this January blog: CES for VO’s…then again in March: CourVO on Blue Blog.  I also met with the Blue mic reps at their VOICE2012 booth.

During all that time, it became clear to me the Blue Spark Digital was at the top of a new line of mics and technology of which Blue was pretty proud.  At CES, Blue seemed confident that the Blue Spark Digital would be released “sometime in the Spring”.

Ahem…it’s August, and so far, among the three new mics I saw previewed at CES, only the Blue TIKI USB mic has been released.

I’m sure it’s extremely frustrating for the marketing department of a company like Blue to find the fine line between offering advance notice of a hot new product, without over-promising the release.

I think we’d all agree, though, that it’s probably better for device manufacturers to “get it right” before putting something out for distribution.  Good for them, and the consumer.

However, all of this points up a basic rule of thumb worth remembering:

As voice-actors we can’t pin our hopes of improving OUR voice product, on such advances in technology.  It all falls under the rule of diminishing returns.

As an example, a beginning voice-actor, using a USB stick mic plugged directly into a laptop might see a 70-80% improvement in the quality of their recording with a $500 outlay for a decent XLR mic and a basic audio interface with pre-amp.  Beyond that, you reach a point of diminishing returns.  Sure you could go out and buy a Neumann U-87 or TLM103 with an Avalon pre-amp…but the thousands you’d spend would only bring you a 10-15% rise in quality (ballpark).

We all (especially geek guy voice actors) are guilty of believing technology along will boost us into voice over success.

So in celebration of the law of diminishing returns, I ask you:

Would you rather keep buying more mics, or spend that money on coaching?
Will a new computer help your sound, or would a visit to FaffCon do more?
Should you spend a ton on a new demo, or get those improv classes? (tough one)
Do you really need a new mobile setup, or would the money be better spent on  CRM software?
Could you skip a DAW upgrade — wait for the next version, and do some phone sessions with a valued consultant?

…just some examples of approaches that might bring a better chance of improvement in your voice product than to continue to buy newer and better equipment (uh, voice of experience, here!)

CourVO

Filed Under: Advice, Mics, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

5 Ways to Spot Predatory VO Demo Coaches/Schools

June 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Believe me, I know this topic has been ballyhooed, broadcast, and blogged-about for years…but apparently it bears repeating.

Yesterday, I got an email from a respected voice over training studio in NYC warning again of the actions of scammy demo mills taking money from unsuspecting and eager would-be voice actors, and leaving them with unusable and unmarketable — even insulting — demos.

How easy it must be to defraud a person who has stars in their eyes about becoming the next Mel Blanc.  If you’re an established name in this business, you know that the calls come regularly from people with incredible pipes, who’ve been told they should be doing voiceovers, and who want to know how to get started in the business.  Thank goodness they came to you and not one of the scammers.

Since you have their rapt attention be sure to share with them the following 5 ways to spot predatory VO Demo Coaches/Schools.

1)  They will typically promise that a weekend’s work in their studio will result in a dynamite demo you can take to any agent any where to get voiceover jobs.  Beware the over-complimentary feedback and get-rich-quick promises.  VO learning takes time, demos take time, and successful voice-over careers are rarely realized in a weekend.  Even Ted Williams had some radio background training.
2) They can’t really give you names and contact information of truly satisfied past students when you ask.  You should be able to get at least 5 names from them of people who are effusive in their praise.
3)  When you Google them, their business, or their history, you find that no one’s ever heard of them, their Google search results are sparse, and their trail leads nowhere.  Good studios and coaches leave friendly traces of success and unsolicited recommendations in their wake.
4)  Their website, the studio, their equipment, and even their business cards look schlocky.  Not all demo studios look like a million bucks, but good ones will work like a well-oiled machine.  Even eager VO wannabes need to beware of voice-0ver phishing techniques.  If their website and their business cards DO look slick, but you’re still wary…revisit #3.
5)  Their ads and marketing materials use a lot of superlatives, are short on details, and long on promises.  Ask plenty of questions about their methods, their experience, proof of their promises, and don’t be rushed.  If they’re that good, they must have a long line of students waiting for weeks to get in.

Honorable mention:  They demand you pay them a princely sum up front. The good ones will only ask for a reasonable retainer to get started, and the balance upon completion.

Like any other training you would expect from any other field of endeavour, a little bit of homework goes a long way.  Be thorough in your search, and you’ll start hearing a few of the same names — the good ones — over and over again.

Here endeth the lesson for today.

CourVO

 

Filed Under: Advice, Bad Guys, Training/Education, VO Business Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

5 Ways to Conquer “The Wall”

May 14, 2012 By 9 Comments

You’re there…standing right in front of it, and it appears immovable.  There’s no way around it, and no way over it.

Chances are you yourself have created the wall, so it’s insidiously well-designed to foil any attempts to find a weakness.  You know yourself too well.

It’s the agent (or agents) who won’t return a call.  It’s the E-Learning project director you can NEVER seem to get a hold of. It’s the nagging crackle in your audio chain that intermittently screws up your recording. It’s the newsletter that WON’T get written.  It’s the cold call you JUST. CAN’T. MAKE.  It’s the demo that never sounds right.  It’s the branding slogan you can’t nail down….and on and on and on.

“The Wall” takes one of two or three forms:
1) A mental roadblock you’ve nurtured into a full-fledged fortress.
2) A procrastination that seems larger-than-life after weeks ‘n’ weeks.
3) A circumstance that befuddles you or is beyond your skill set.

Tell me if I’ve forgotten something.  Either way, the result is the same:  arrested development, zero progress, stagnant growth.

It’s time to punt.  Everything you’ve tried (or haven’t tried) isn’t working.  Be honest enough with yourself to admit it and take action (finally) to break the logjam.

Here are 5 suggested formulas to conquering your “wall”.

1)  Talk to a friend or even better…a mentor (or two).  Talking through the issue helps.  The conversation opens up ideas, offers encouragement, gets the juices flowing.  It could be your friend or mentor has been there, and has a possible solution, or knows someone who does.  You’d be surprised — if nothing else — how talking about it takes the power out of the quandary.

2) Break it down to smaller steps.  Try for a couple of smaller “wins” first, then build on it.  Make your list of the most elementary incremental advances, then revel in crossing each one off with a big thick felt-tip marker.

3)  Turn the issue upside down or work backwards.  Imagine what you’re doing or able to do now that your roadblock is GONE.  See all the potentials and developments that came from it.  Or what is the very last step you would take BEFORE climbing the wall..then what’s the step before THAT…and so forth, until you arrive at the place where you are today.  Now…do you see the way?

4)  Go out and play.  See a hilarious movie.  Take an old friend out, and crack open some old stories.  Read a short book.  Break the cycle.  Hit the period on your keyboard.  Strike out in a new direction entirely for a day.  Take a drive.  Divert your thoughts from the issue for an hour, a day, a week…refuse to think about it.  Then come back around and try again.

5) Service.  Nothing breaks your pity-pot more than doing something for someone else.  No other action resets your gauges better than offering a humble, free, pro-bono service to somebody, anybody who can use a hand or a boost.  When you take your mind off your own troubles, and focus on helping someone else, it’s cathartic.

Honorable mention:  Walls are bridges.  As trite as it sounds, conquering the wall puts another feather in your cap, adds another tool to your toolkit, and makes you a stronger person.  When you “cross over” that wall, it becomes the path to a new you, and a better you for having seen it through.  Bravo!

A couple of caveats: There may not be an answer.  It may have nothing to do with you and what you did or didn’t do.  Sometimes you have to realize you’ve been banging your head against the wall for too long, and then you have to accept that your own stubbornness is getting in the way of your progress, not the wall.  The wall can be there to tell you you’ve reached a limit…and realizing your limits is not a bad thing…like pulling your head out of the sand.

What have I missed?  What’s worked for you?  Got a quick anecdote you can share?

CourVO

The following sites helped me focus on the solutions I’ve written above:

http://www.workshifting.com/2009/08/when-you-hit-the-wall.html
http://www.empowernetwork.com/osmanamg/blog/what-do-you-do-when-you-hit-the-wall/
http://blog.chron.com/careerrescue/2011/09/when-you-hit-the-wall-its-time-for-a-change/
http://joelrunyon.com/two3/what-to-do-when-you-hit-a-wall

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5 End-of-Year VO Reminders

December 14, 2011 By 4 Comments

2011.

Was it good to your business?…a “growth” year?…a “development” year?…the “payoff” year?

Regardless, if you want to continue to build momentum into 2012, some 2011 housekeeping duties will put you in a good position for the New Year.  Just a couple of items that come up about this time of year that might be easy to overlook.

My short-list of end-of-year reminders:

1)  Are you a Sub-S Corp?  Then you need to pay your shareholder (usually you) at least once a year to meet your legal commitment.  It can be a dollar or $1,000 but if you overlook this…then the IRS will start looking at you.  Call your accountant and share with them an estimated profit/loss comparison, you write yourself a check, and they will file this report for you electronically.  Done!  This may vary according to the state you’re in, but call and ask either the IRS or your accountant for the details.  Not a Sub-S?…maybe you’re a Sole Proprietor?…Incorporated?…and LLC?  There may be a similar consideration you overlooked before.  It won’t hurt to check.

2)  Download bank and credit records before Dec 31st.  Some of these financial institutions may cut off the easy download of data after that.  My bank cuts off access every three months.  Most credit card companies will let you download your month-by-month transactions into a QuickBooks, Microsoft Money, or Quicken format right from your accounting software up until the end of the year.  Failure to do so could result in you having to manually enter each individual transaction for your tax return.  I haven’t…uh…had to uh…do that…but I’ve er, ah…heard it’s time-consuming.

3)  Back up any and every file on your computer that constitutes personal data, creative effort, or irreplaceable information.  Programs can be re-installed, but not that demo file you worked so hard on.  All those recordings your clients are expecting you to keep archived, and invoices, documents, and personal letters or emails may be part of your business record  you’ll need to prove binding agreements and a trail of  decisions.  I recommend Carbonite for a seamless, painless, inexpensive, behind-the-scenes back-up of important files all year round.  Now might be a good time to defragment and do some file housekeeping to optimize your hard drives, too.

4)  Get paid for 2011′s work in 2011.  Send out those invoices, follow-up reminders and maybe not-so-gentle notices to clients who still have not coughed up the compensation for the hard work you did in…August?…September?  This is YOUR business, of course, but don’t let someone take advantage of you with hair-brain excuses.

5)  Take advantage of Santa.  Need something for your Studio?  Hey!…you’re hard to buy for!…so tell your loved-one what it is you really need to make you happy for Christmas.  Online sales are through the roof…many are offering free shipping, and unbelievable Holiday deals.  Ebay sales also increase this time of year, as people dump stuff they don’t need to get cash for buying gifts.  Search for and bid on that TLM-103 you wanted.  Some vendors are planning new products for 2012, and are trying to dump 2011′s inventory.  I’m just sayin’.

Honorable mention:  Start thinking about 2012.  In the back of your head, what did you do right, where did you fail, and what do you want to put on your VO New Year’s resolution for 2012?  These things need to percolate.  Get the creative and analytical juices flowing so you can come up with a realistic list of goals for the new year.  I’ll revisit this final admonition later in December.

What did I miss?

CourVO

Filed Under: Advice, Business-end-of-things, Heads Up! Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

5 Inexpensive VO Gifts for Christmas

December 8, 2011 By 2 Comments

Give this list to your  husband/wife/partner/better half/spouse/mate/POSSSLQ.

Things are tight.  Chances are, whatever they buy you for Christmas will come out of your VO profits anyway, so let’s make it easy.

The following list contains just 5 simple VO gifts you will appreciate, that will not break the family budget.

1) $25  HoldOn Log’s Voice Over  Artist’s Booked Projects  contains organizational pages for logging and tracking 100 Voice Over Booking Appointments (Contract Signing, Edit Sessions, Follow-Ups, Invoice Submissions, Meetings, Member/Session Reports, Recording Sessions, Research, etc.). Each form records Booking Details, Contact Info, Booking Expenses, Submittal Source, Post-Booking Info, Pay Details and Follow-Up Reminders. There is also an Income Management Section to record payment details.

2)  $10-$25 New Pop Filter.  Let’s face it…your old one has been spit on, sneezed on, scratched, dinged, and bent.  Tell your loved one to visit Amazon.com, Guitar Center, BSWUSA.com, MusiciansFriend.com, a Guitar Center Store, Sweetwater.com or any number of other online and brick ‘n mortar places, and get you a new pop filter.  Fabric or metal…either’s OK…and pic up a new 10-ft mic cable while you’re there.

3) $34.95  SOUND ADVICE by Dan Friedman.  OK, so this is the most expensive item on the list, but Dan’s an audio engineer, and he’s done his homework.  Think of it this way, spend $34.95 now, and earn thousands in 2012 from the great advice he gives (editor’s note:  you have to read the book).

4) $10 – $20 annual fee.  ANY CLOUD COMPUTING ACCOUNT.  Evernote.com, SugarSync.com, Box.net, DropBox.com, Yousendit.com, DropSend.com, Zoho.com, or get 25 Gigs for free at Microsoft’s SkyDrive.  This will end a lot of large-file-sending headaches, make relations with clients a lot easier.

5.) $7  Voice Registery Platinum account.  With the Platinum you can participate in the Weekend Workout. The Weekend Workout is hosted each week by a different VO Mega Talent, Agent, Director, Coach, or someone well connected in the business. (verbatim from Bill Brady’s Blog).  Bill and others say this is GREAT feedback well worth many times over the $7 fee.

Honorable Mention.  With tax season approaching, spend nothing, and enroll the VO person in your home with FreshBooks.  This online bookeeping site is gaining a lot of traction with freelancers everywhere.  Eventually, to get all the full functionality with bells and whistles, you may have to spend a little, but now may be the time to move away from QuickBooks that comes out with a new $125 upgrade every year for a nominal increase in functionality.

Got any better ideas?  Let’s hear ‘em!

CourVO

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Avoiding Studio Disasters

December 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Recording Review is a frequent source of inspiration for this blog.

Here’s a direct link, though, to a rather irreverent article written by Brandon Drury (some rough language here ‘n’ there).

The article is directed at mostly musicians, but there is some real wisdom for all us voice actors, too…especially militantly enforcing a “liquid policy”.

8 BulletProof Ways to Avoid Studio Disasters

CourVO

 

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7 VO Reasons to go paperless…

November 4, 2011 By 4 Comments

…and none of them are ”green” reasons.

Not that I don’t believe in saving trees…I’ve just found other compelling arguments for eschewing stacks of studio paper.

1)  Flatscreen monitors are felony cheap.  I bought a 23″ LG HDMI monitor at Fry’s Electronics for $189.  The deals get better every day.  If you’re a Windows guy (not sure about Mac), set up your studio with two monitors in Control Panel settings.  Put your DAW interface on one screen, and read your copy off your other screen.

2) No rattling of pages, or page turning sounds. Don’t pooh-pooh this one.  If you’re an audiobook or long-format narrator, this can save a lot of time in the long run — in editing and physically having to handle the pages (and edit out the sounds of pages and paper).

3) Tablet Computers are the bomb. Forget #1, get a tablet computer (iPad, Motorola XOOM, Samsung Galaxy, etc).  Buy an inexpensive mount and position it anywhere in your studio.  Heck, hold it like a piece of paper!  Use your finger to turn pages.  Silent!

4) “The Cloud” solves all.  The same company that makes Dragon Naturally Speaking (Nuance), also makes PaperPort.  With a small investment, and access to a scanner (use your iPhone!), you can make your whole world paperless!  Store .pdfs, .docs, receipts, letters, invoices…ANYTHING on paper can be transferred to the cloud, and called up from the cloud onto your smartphone, tablet computer, computer monitor, even your TV screen.

5) “The Cloud” part II.  DropBox may be the most ingeniously easy invention of the last 5 years.  Many of my clients use it so send copy and receive audiofiles.  AudioBook publishers use it for workflow.  It’s drop-dead easy and brainless.  Same with Box.net, SugarSync, Evernote, and SpringPad.

6) Save Space. This is so obvious, I almost didn’t mention it.  No more file cabinets, drawers, folders, notebooks, shelves, dust, paperclips, staples — it all goes away with digital storage of documents.

7) Searching is a Cinch.  Unless you’re incredibly organized and disciplined, searching digital documents beats the heck out of sifting through endless files and drawers.  Just tell your computer to do the search for you.  Saves on paper cuts, too.

Honorable mention:  Going paperless (especially with the aid of a tablet computer) empowers you to have more control of your business…with the flexibility to work when, where, and how you want.

I am so not the first person to make a list like this.  Below are some others (and they all used the crutch argument of

“going green”):

Six Good Reasons to go Paperless Today

Five Reasons you should go Paperless

Top Ten Reasons to go Paperless

Three Big Reasons to go Paperless

Three Practical Reasons to go Paperless

The Top Five Reasons to go Paperless

Did I miss something?  Please comment below and let us know.

CourVO

Filed Under: Advice, VO Business Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

StrongArming Stress

September 21, 2011 By 2 Comments

So funny that I got such a supportive response to yesterday’s blog about Caring for your Cords.  By the end of the day Tuesday, I was coming down with a sore throat.  Ack!  (self-fulfilling prophecy?)

On top of that, I had a full load at the TV station, a ton of work to do in my VO studio, I’m trying to develop yet another cutting-edge resource on Social Media that is a total time-suck, I’m preparing for a flight Saturday to the Midwest, and I’ve got a new puppy peeing on the carpet everywhere!

STRESS!!!

Unbelievably one of my favorite freelance websites had just the solution:  Freelance Folder.

In her excellent article:  FREELANCING STRESS 3.0, Author Laura Spencer lays out today’s big stress generators, and provides 11 helpful links for understanding stress, dealing with stress, and not letting it defeat you — specifically for freelance VO’s like you.

Take a  moment to read, and then….take a deep breath and tell  yourself it’s gonna be alright!

CourVO

 

Filed Under: Advice, Freelance, Published Articles, Web Resources Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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