We all know a career in #voiceover takes time, talent and training. It also takes #investing in yourself and your business with first-class current #demos, the right #equipment for your voice and your recording space, and ongoing #classes and #coaching to keep you on your toes and up-to-date on the latest trends.
But what about those times when the old bank account is a little on the... empty side? Maybe you just made a big investment in a professional booth. Maybe you had unexpected healthcare or home costs and you just can't find two dimes to rub together right now?
Here's the good news: if you're a professional voiceover actor, you already have THREE FREE RESOURCES at your fingertips! What's that, you say? Tell me more Claire, you say?
I'd be delighted.
1) Audio From Classes and Coaching Sessions
You've been collecting all those wonderful files in a folder somewhere on your computer, so why not give them a listen? We like to flatter ourselves that we're always making forward progress but let's be honest, a bad habit you had a year ago (or two, or five...) is probably a bad habit you might be sliding into again. So revisit those old recordings, listen carefully and make notes! I'll bet anything there are some nuggets in there you've forgotten about.
2) Old Auditions
Hopefully you're already in the habit of listening back to the week's auditions at the end of the week, right? If not then that's the first place you should start! A week is enough time to lose the internal memory of what you *intended* to do; now you can actually hear what you *did* do with fresh ears and a critical mindset. Now try that for auditions for a month ago. Now a year ago. Pick them at random so you get a true cross-section of how you've been representing yourself. Now listen back *just* to your auditions that booked the job (you have those in a separate folder, right?) Note macro-trends - do you book more from auditions recorded in certain months? On vacation? After vacation? Late at night or early in the morning? You have SO MUCH RAW DATA right there for the listening!
3) Fellow Voice Actors
If you don't have an in-person #workoutgroup... get yourself a workout group. Find a cohort of like-minded but diverse voice actors who give great feedback and are ideally at different stages of their journey. How do you find these magical unicorns? If you have a local training school that's a natural place for groups to form among the students, otherwise check out local Facebook groups or reach out to folks on LinkedIn or just ask around. If you're looking for them you'll find them, I promise. We're a lonely bunch and I guarantee that if a workout group doesn't already exist people will be so glad you started one!
So whether you're skint, broke, impecunious, destitute or as poor as a church mouse... there's no excuse not to keep learning, training, and moving forward. Good luck!
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