making this my primary source of income

Randall Bigham

i was wondering who of you are lucky enough to have VO as your primary source of income and how long it took you to reach that goal.

this is my goal and any information about what you did to achive that goal would be of great value to me.

i shall have my booth up and running and my acount upgraded to premium in less then a month! i am really excited. i know it will take a while to do, but i'm ready for the long haul, and due to the fact that i have no life i think that will help me. mega grin

Russ McLamb · Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006, 13:01 (GMT) Post subject:

Randall,

VO's all I do fulltime. Have been for about 4 years. I did it part time while still in radio when I first started because bills had to be paid. Smile

After about two years of doing it part time I decided it was all or nothing and started doing it full time about 4 years ago. Business has steadily grown from $20,000 the first year to 6 figures this year. It's hard work. You've got to market, market, market, and when you think you've done enough marketing you've got to do it again. 90% of your time is spent marketing. You've got to do it everyday. You'll miss more than you hit, but soon the hits keep coming back and it starts to grow. It takes time and you've got to be patient and don't believe the myth that if you get a mic and computer the money will start to flow. It's not that easy. You have to practice everyday and constantly make new contacts.

Just my .02

Russ

Randall Bigham · Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006, 13:25 (GMT) Post subject:

thank you for taking the time to reply. i shall have to brainstorm some marketing strategies so when my studio is up and running, so will my marketing! ultragrin

Robert Jadah · Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006, 20:52 (GMT) Post subject: BigDream Bigham

Randall:
Your excitement's contagious; love it!
You can find more of this filthy money talk at the General Chat topic 'Aside from auditions, what are we Making($$$)?(November)'.
I suggest you check it out, 'cuz I'd hate for you to go ahead and order the Hummer just yet.
An awful lot (quantitatively, not qualitatively) of VO'ers are earning six figures only if you count what's after the decimal point. Talents like Russ McLamb, Sid Whatley, Todd Ellis and a few others add to their considerable talent with polished and aggressive marketing.
Many of us are not strong at Sales. Personally, I'd get very few well-paying gigs without my agent (half-heartedly) waving my banner.
And repeat business, as old pro Scott Pollak will also wisely tell you, is the bread and butter and Cheez Whiz of your income.
The curse about repeat business, though, is you gotta bag 'em in the first place. Then blow them away. And that aint easy.
And you think you don't have a life now.......
Go Get 'Em.
Voice On!
Robert Jadah

Russ McLamb · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006, 02:21 (GMT) Post subject: Re: BigDream Bigham

Randall Bigham · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006, 03:28 (GMT) Post subject:

i have no wife or kids or even a girlfriend. this will be the only thing in my life so i can afford to put 100% of myself into it. i just got my mic, mic stand, pop filter, pre-amp and headphones. just need my walls and i am ready to kick some butt!! aufs maul

Todd Ellis · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006, 03:58 (GMT) Post subject:

Randall - welcome to the world of "Eat What You Kill". My advice is Market - Market - Market. There are a million books out there on it - start with Sun Tzu's "Art of War" and work your way forward.

Repeat business is key also - it's a whole lot easier to KEEP a customer than to find a new one. Although I have one client (screaming car dealer) that I deny doing the spots. "Hey - wasn't that you on the XXXXX Chevrolet ad on TV?" ... "Uh, no ... must have just sounded like me ... somebody else ... yeah, that's it."

I still take the money though.

Nikki Saco · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006, 04:45 (GMT) Post subject:

I bought my brother Sun Tzu's "Art of War" last Christmas. I guess I should borrow it back, but he'll never believe I need it for marketing. I better make something up.

Todd Ellis · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006, 05:28 (GMT) Post subject:

Oh, it's definitely a marketing book. If you like that - you should check out Stanly Bing's "Sun Tzu Was a Sissy" - very small book - jam packed with cool stuff - it's a great airplane read.

Russ McLamb · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006, 14:08 (GMT) Post subject:

Scott Pollak · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006, 15:08 (GMT) Post subject:

Okay, I haven't read it but just ordered it on Amazon.com. Will get back to you guys after I get it and devour it. I'm an avid reader and was just looking for a new, good book to start, so the timing on your recommendation was perfect!

Todd Ellis · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006, 16:35 (GMT) Post subject:

If victory is too long in coming, the weapons of war will lose their edge. A protracted war is a drain on the state. Sun Tzu

Marriage is the only war where you sleep with the enemy. Gary Busey

Nikki Saco · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006, 20:05 (GMT) Post subject:

Art of War is also public domain and available through Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/132/132.txt for those of you who don't mind reading off a monitor.

If you have or would like to get Opera (another Internet browser), you can activate the voice-controlled browsing and have the computer read you the text. (Tools > Preferences > Advanced > Voice). Nice option for tired eyes. http://www.opera.com/

Randall Bigham · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006, 23:42 (GMT) Post subject:

please forgive my ignorance, but how does this book help you with voice overs? keine ahnung

Todd Ellis · Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006, 02:17 (GMT) Post subject:

Not to speak for you ( or anyone else) but the book helped me with life - which, in turn helped me with voiceover ... and everything else. It's more about philosophy, management, and life. It is a Chinese military treatise written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu for the emperor at the time (I don't recall who). They started translating it to English in the 1700's and many have acknowledged it as one of the greatest "busines" books of all time. I have referenced it for years, and also have the audio version with a historical intro. by Ralph Sawyer, a noted Chinese warfare scholar. Other books I can recommend are: The E-Myth by Michael Gerber, Spin Selling by Neil Rackham and Non-Manipulative Selling by Tony Alessandra.

In order for anyone to use you on a VO job - they have to know you're out there. That's where the selling comes in.