My voice-over team.

Most of us free-lancers start out in business alone. As voice-over artists maybe we get advice (good or bad) about what equipment to choose and how to set up the studio and where to get good deals on art work and business cards and how to approach marketing. There are as many ways to start as there are individual voice artists, and it’s possible that the best advice in the world isn’t going to make much difference at the beginning – we do what we can afford to do, with the resources available. That’s what I did. As a result, I went through numerous microphones and several pre-amps before settling on what I now have and love, upgrading as my business grew. I don’t think I lost much money there, as the audio equipment held its value and I was able to sell what I no longer wanted. I suppose I gained valuable knowledge about microphones, and really, one’s voice and use of a microphone evolve with experience, so I don’t think I have anything to regret there.

The kind of voice-over coaching one needs also evolves. I had excellent coaching at the outset, and have taken advantage of many opportunities to attend workshops with great teachers. My current coach is superb, and she doesn’t take on beginners, so I don’t have any regrets about the way I’ve approached my training, either.

What I do regret, though, is not having expert advice in dealing with the noise problems I had the first few years in business. I lost a few potential customers because of it, and I think a seriously good audio engineer could have helped me get to the root of the problems much sooner. As my friend Pat Fraley says, “experience is the slowest teacher”. Experience has taught me much about the many ways noise can be introduced into an audio chain, but it has been costly experience. An expert could have been invaluable early in my career.

One of the smartest things I’ve done as a voice artist is finally finding and hiring that expert. My particular expert is George Whittam of ElDorado Recording Services – whom I contacted at the suggestion of my friend and mentor, Kevin Genus. George worked with me to find good ways to process my audio when I wanted to “dress it up” a bit for auditions. He installed Source Connect for me, saving me a lot of time. He has been available for any questions I have about my audio and about equipment choices. He also let me know that if I had any problems with my mobile studio while I was away on vacation last week, he would be available to help, using LogMeIn to look at my computer desktop. It wasn’t necessary, as it turns out, but the peace of mind it gave me to know he was just a phone call away was priceless.

My voice-over team also includes lots of dear friends in the business who are generous with their advice – e.g., about setting rates. But here is an area where again, it can be a wise choice to get an expert on your team, such as a trusted agent. The difference between what you might be able to get on your own and what a really good agent could negotiate for you could over time be well worth the commissions. This is something I’m currently working on for myself.

For a story about how a fellow voice artist used the “outsourcing” concept to increase her business, I recommend this article by Moneen Daly Harte at Voice Over Xtra. That bit about hiring a house cleaning service has tremendous appeal - the question of how to keep your home life from unnecessarily encroaching on your work time is material for another post. And of course, keeping your work time from eroding time with family is probably material for a book - or lots of books!