When Software Burps

Workflow is a time sensitive thing. We have delivery dates for the work we do and part of our job is to anticipate potential time-sucking issues that may impact a timely delivery.

I am getting pretty good at balancing my daily forays into Social Media, but we all have other areas that need attention.

  • Family (my increased time with my mom needs to be figured into the equation)
  • Exercise (oh, brother, this is high on my list of things I don’t get around to – do my weekly tap classes count?)
  • Home and Garden (my yard is a MESS – my counters are getting mightly cluttered – and there is a leak in the big bathroom that needs to be attended to – not to mention I am stripping an old door for a remodel project)
  • Volunteering (my work with MCA-I has increased recently due to some major changes in the association requiring more time as […]
2011-01-27T10:32:45+00:00January 27th, 2011|Categories: Business, Recording, Technology|

How to pay the mortgage doing VO

A discussion about what a professional VO talent should/could/would make popped up on the Yahoo Voiceover Message Board in the past 24 hours.

A few $$ figures were tossed out and a quick posting fenzy ensued. Whatever that bottom line is for you, the reality of today’s cost of living means that you need a certain level of income to support a spouse and family. 

So whatever that is to you – and it will differ from person to person and place to place – it will not come from any one source. Your Marketing Plan needs to be one of the first things you develop as you dip your toe into the business. And that plan will include lots of different avenues for landing good jobs that pay well. (Rinse and repeat.)

Jennifer Vaughn posted a response to this thread that summed it up nicely and she has given me […]

2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00January 19th, 2011|Categories: Business, Marketing|Tags: |

Thinking about taxes and paperwork

I know – I know. Why would I do that on a Sunday morning? There are lots of other things to do. But it’s money saving week on the Food Network which started me thinking about money inflow and outflow. And overnight I received a couple of email requests for W9’s so that people can send 1099’s for the voiceover services I provided last year.

A few years ago when I was producing and hiring sub-contractors, I had a few 1099’s to fill out, but since moving to voiceoverwork full-time, I have not had to do this paperwork. Well, according to a provision in the “Affordable Health Care Bill” that was passed last year, beginning in 2012, as a small business person, we will need to issue 1099s for all services and goods purchased from all vendors in excess of $600.

Do yourself a favor – use your credit or debit card to pay for goods – […]

2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00January 16th, 2011|Categories: Business|

Learn to say NO! Or YES when it is the right thing to do.

You just never know whose eyes will fall upon what is freely posted to the online world. A random search of some odd word combination could pull up my blog and either enhance or destroy my image as a professional.

But sometimes you have to push the envelope. With my sense of decorum that sometimes borders on Pollyanna cast aside momentarily, I have to pass along this very clever, yet somewhat “blue” chart created by Jessica Hische.

She steps you through the Yes and No questions you should ask yourself when deciding whether or not to work for FREE. And don’t we all need to be reminded that our time is valuable!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3514540/workforfree.jpg

There is also a “clean” version – http://shouldiworkforfree.com/clean.html

You start right in the middle with your four basic scenarios of who is doing the asking – a business, a charity or non-profit, your mom or your friend. […]

2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00January 14th, 2011|Categories: Business, Negotiating|Tags: , , |

Cardio Needed for Conversation Muscles

Ah – the loneliness of the voiceover actor these days. Day after day – alone in our padded rooms with only the occasional directed session – we rarely get to converse with our clients – much less actually see them face-to-face. Skype does’t count. And, like anything, if you don’t use certain muscles, they atrophy.  Time for some cardio for my conversation muscles!

The VO team is usually a small one to begin with – so even if you do have a phone patch or ISDN session – you are still only talking to a small earful of people. Most of the time, it is my fingers doing the talking to the client, and my voice is reserved for the booth.

Last week, I learned that face-to-face interaction with clients and crew takes a lot more energy than I remember. After an all day on-camera shoot (OK, mostly all day) with a crew filled with […]

2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00January 9th, 2011|Categories: Communication, Musings|
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