People sometimes ask if there is a particular season in VO that’s more lucrative than another.
It depends, of course, on SO many variables…not the least of which is the particular genre that is your bread ‘n’ butter…but even then not so much. Some of it is arbitrary, but there is much you can do to mitigate the circumstance.
The Abbo-lute Truth
Last year by this time, I was (as they say) kickin’ butt and takin’ names. But this Jan-Feb-Mar was soooo bad, I can count profits in the hundreds. I hope newcomers to this business understand that. I never try to discourage anyone from getting into VO, and certainly there are some who are KILLING it in voice acting (after all, I see their prideful posts alla time on FaceBook!), but freelance ANYTHING will inherently have its peaks and valleys.
The trick is to take those highs and lows out of the equation, but there we go again with the variables:
- dependability of clients
- consistency of marketing
- word of mouth referrals
- auditioning uptime
- vacations
- cultural trends
- changes in online/digital opportunities
- vicissitudes of social media
- family intrusions (the good kind usually)
- Union strikes
- technical/hardware/software issues
You don’t need to go looking for excuses…because the root of the issue is usually of your own doing…or NOT doing something.
As noted in yesterday’s blog, having a system/habits/goals/routine/plan…and WORKING the plan consistently and faithfully may be your best guard against the peaks and valleys. There will always be those who break the rules and make a success of it, but for most of us shmoes, adherence to a well thought out course of action is the key.
So where are you right now? A peak, a valley, or in the tram going one way or the other?
CourVO
Regarding today’s blog, I was not surprised to hear that business has been extremely slow.
Just this month, three of my students lost their jobs. a husband of another lost a seven-year job as a mechanical engineer, after he and his wife were relocated by GE to South Carolina, (GE is in the middle of a huge stock buyback) where they bought a house two years ago, and still another, whose husband lost his job six months after relocating to Florida from Ohio. (The company sold his entire division) With Washington and corporate America waging war on wage-earning Americans, the idea of working as a freelancer seems even more attractive in 21st Century America.
Thanks Dave!
As a newbie, I really needed to hear this. A few weeks ago, I was on cloud nine; the last couple of weeks, nothing. But I keep going, because I don’t have a choice; this is my passion, and everything I’m putting out (auditioning for) that I don’t get, is just preparation for the great things to come. Peaks and valleys..good stuff!