Business – Page 11 – Connie Terwilliger

For some things you need to commit with every fiber of your being

How do you make the jump from good to great? It’s not hard to identify not-so-good from good, but just what it is that sets “great” apart?

Some of this is subjective, yes. We don’t all agree on who should win the Golden Globe or the Oscar for example. When it comes to Fine Art, there is even more subjectivity. But mostly we can see or hear when something is “good.” Or maybe not. Is it just natual ability?

When it comes to work where timing is critical – say dance, music – or – wait for it – (rim shot) – comedy, I think there has to be some natural ability to achieve “good.”. But you need much more than that to be “great.” You need passion, energy, and enthusiasm. And even then, if the audience doesn’t understand what is happening, then the ability to discern “greatness” falters. You also need committment, but if that […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00February 5th, 2011|Categories: Business, Marketing, Musings|

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 […]

Connie Terwilliger2011-01-27T10:32:45+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 […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00January 19th, 2011|Categories: Business, Marketing|Tags: Jennifer Vaughn|

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 – […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+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. […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00January 14th, 2011|Categories: Business, Negotiating|Tags: Jessica Hische, work for free, Zak Miller|

Digging Through the Receipts and Adding Things Up

Probably should have done this last month, rather than the last few days of the year, but I am pulling up reports in my QuickBooks to make sure I am maximizing my deductions and charitable donations for 2010.

That includes remembering to include the transactions in a now closed bank account. If you changed banks this year, don’t forget about that old account! I nearly did when searching for a donation to my college and university to see who I paid what this year. I was befuddled for a few minutes when the searches came up with nothing, until I remembered that I had deactivated that account.

Bookkeeping is one of my least favorite things about this job – probably because my math skills are so bad. This lack of confidence in basic math also affects the time it takes to get out an accurate bid. Accounting programs such as QuickBooks and Quicken […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:35+00:00December 28th, 2010|Categories: Business, Musings|

Yes, Virginia, there is a Non-union Reuse Fee

One of the things that we love, as professional working voice talent with agents – or other similar working arrangements with production companies – is when said agents/producers are on top of their game and negotiate fairly with the end clients on behalf of us – also their clients.

And one of the nicest ways of knowing that this is happening in the background is when you get the email or phone call telling you that a reuse fee is coming for a job – union or non-union. A nice little bonus came to me recently and two others who provided the voices for a national spot. Thanks to Voice Talent Productions for the chance to audition for this in the first place.

Doesn’t happen with every job, but with non-union broadcast work, you sure do hope that someone is going to bat for you and negotiating additional payment for […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:36+00:00December 23rd, 2010|Categories: Business, Negotiating|

What the heck just happened?

Excuse me, did I miss something? Like the whole 2nd half of the year maybe? What is this pile of paperwork sitting here? Wait, what I meant to say was what are all these piles of paperwork sitting here? Why is that list of things to do getting longer instead of shorter?

Part of it is personal obligations – that has increased over the past year and a half or so – since my mom moved out here from across the country. Part of it is that my ability to be superwoman is diminishing due to hot flashes.

Part of it is a slight increase in the amount of time I am spending chasing down money from people I didn’t expect to have to chase down for money.

But a big part of it is the time suckers – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, other social media message boards, my volunteer time for MCA-I, this blog, the other […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:36+00:00December 22nd, 2010|Categories: Business, Communication, Technology|

To On-Camera or Not To On-Camera?

After doing fewer and fewer on-camera jobs over the past few years, I find that I don’t jump up and down with excitement when an email comes in with an on-camera audition. It’s a matter of time – and money.

Plus, I have grown so comfortable in jeans and leggings that the idea digging through my closet for business attire for an on-camera audition is becoming less and less appealing. Most of my business wardrobe is getting pretty dated (not to mention just a little snug!). So a lot of time is spent just figuring out what the heck to wear.

Then, you have to put on make-up!!! But since the advent of HD – not too much make up – but just the right amount of make up. This means more time just getting ready to get in the car to actually drive somewhere.

Add to this, the fact that most of these auditions in […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:36+00:00November 21st, 2010|Categories: Auditioning, Business|

Is Cold-Calling Dead?

Interesting discussion on Facebook right now about the benefits (or not) of cold-calling. Smiling and Dialing is a term I have used.

Conflicting opinions have emerged. Could advances in technology be killing the Cold-Call?

The original post espoused the positive results of cold-calling using the example of more work for a repeat client who had initially been the result of a cold-call. This is, of course, cold-calling people who you KNOW are interested in the kind of work you do. Marketing 101 – pre-qualify your leads.

An immediate opposing viewpoint was posted – with face-to-face networking indicated as the key to conversion.

I think that as with so many other things in our business life these days, the times they are a changing.

Do the networking thing first if your potential client is in your physical area. If you are touching someone remotely, then you have three practical choices – email, social networking, and the phone.

My […]

Connie Terwilliger2018-02-06T06:48:37+00:00October 27th, 2010|Categories: Business, Marketing|