What if I were to tell you that a recession offers a golden opportunity for performing artists?

I fully realize that the current economic climate of industry strikes, escalating gas prices, and overall belt-tightening is hitting some folks hard – it may be destabilizing your cash flow and, perhaps, your confidence. But I also know that downturns serve as sources of external pressure that can produce significant, positive changes in your career by necessitating that you develop more efficient ways of operating and more strategic plans of action.

Of course, we are all more comfortable during times of expansion. But times of contraction are not inherently bad. They are actually natural, predictable, and can be quite beneficial. In order to protect your passion – your voice over career – it is vital that you shift your perspective away from a doom-and-gloom mentality and commit to learning how to utilize the time, energy, and money that you have right now in the most effective ways possible.

When things are going well and opportunities are plentiful, we aren’t inclined to do a thorough evaluation of the strength of our business practices. When you are making satisfactory forward strides, rarely do you question if the pace you are moving at is actually the fastest it could be. Thus, when this industry is on an up-swing, you have the ability to advance your career without fully comprehending the degree to which you may be squandering your resources.

But resources are too precious to be squandered – consciously or unconsciously – even when we are feeling flush.

I know from first-hand experience that reaching a low-ebb in one’s business either means you grind to a halt or you pull yourself together and get creative, get smart, and get busy. If you choose to do the latter, you are positioning yourself to survive the immediate downturn and to thrive (exponentially!) once the pendulum inevitably swings back.

Here are some things you can do:

MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME

With career strategy, I always start by kicking the tires. I want to know: “How strong is the foundation upon which my client is trying to build their dreams?” If the foundation is weak, they will be building on shaky ground. If they are building on shaky ground, they are most likely expending more effort than necessary and not generating enough momentum to boost them to the next level or sustain any successes they have.

To maximize your time, (especially as an entrepreneurial / self-employed creative artist) you have to get good at keeping those promises you are making to yourself. I’m talking about time-related promises like: “I won’t check my email until after I finish this column” or “I will set aside 30 minutes every Sunday to plan what I will do for my career during the week ahead” or “I will dedicate my prime working hours to possible-money-generating activities (and leave the administrative stuff for later.)” I suspect you already know what you should be doing with your time… now you may need to dig deeper to figure out why you aren’t consistently doing it.

In addition to saying “no” to yourself (“no I can’t surf the net right now!”), to protect the time you need for pursuing your passion, you must be able to say “no” to other people. Here’s a suggestion of how to respond to a request when someone asks you to join a committee or help them with a project or participate in an activity:

First, if you need to buy some time to process the request before answering (or just to get yourself centered) you can always say, “That sounds interesting, I need some time to think about it. I’ll get back to you later today / tomorrow / this week.”

Then, you can respond graciously along the lines of: “Thanks for giving me some time – you know, when I think about doing it, it really seems appealing… but, if I took it on, it would mean I’d have to let go of something else I’ve already committed to, and I just can’t do that right now.” Then, if you can refer them to a resource that (or person who) might be helpful, add: “You might find help with that here…

MAXIMIZE YOUR ENERGY

One reason I advocate selecting a focus and having all of your goals, plans, and actions feed into that focus is because it helps you maximize your energy.

One of your greatest energy-drains may be your decision-making process (or lack there of.) When career-related opportunities come along or choices have to be made, how much energy to you spend worrying, weighing, vacillating, researching, procrastinating, or polling your friends? Is your energy expenditure proportionate to the significance of the decision that needs to be made? Do you welcome opportunities with open arms because you are confident you can evaluate them and choose wisely, or do you keep opportunities at bay?

Your ability to make decisions without hemorrhaging energy is key to your ability to move your career forward faster. This ability has a lot to do with cultivating faith in yourself. Faith that who you are now, what you have now, and what you know now is good enough to start with. Faith that if you make a bad decision, you will have the wherewithal to retrace your steps and head out on a different path.

Your focus is a tool that helps tremendously with decision making because it allows you to start the process by asking, “Does (this) feed my focus?” If the answer is “yes,” then the next question is: “Will it feed my focus better than something I am already doing to feed my focus?” If the answer to that question is “yes,” then the next question is: “Will I be able to easily add this to my life / my current schedule or will I have to take away one of my current activities to make room for this new thing?”

Notice how this questioning leads your mind down one specific road rather than letting it run wild.

MAXIMIZE YOUR MONEY

Anytime is the right time for making sure that you are getting the biggest bang for every buck you spend on your career. Especially now, each dollar you spend should directly and specifically feed your focus. Maximizing your money in this way may require you to think outside the box a bit. Would the money you are spending on that industry subscription be better spent extending yourself and taking industry professionals out for coffee or lunch? Would the money you are saving for a website be better spent attending a particular conference? It all depends on what will have the biggest, most direct impact on improving your bottom line now.

I understand that sometimes everything seems equally important to your progress – you need a website and a demo and some instruction and a home studio! But, when you can’t afford everything at once, these kinds of expenditures must be prioritized in a very strategic way. That’s why some folks find it incredibly valuable to spend money to get guidance on how they should spend their money.

When times are tight, the best bet is to concentrate your resources on playing to your strengths rather than shoring up your weaknesses. Consider if exploring that new class, learning that new skill, or figuring out that new software program might best be done later, once business has picked up for you. What I want to know is what are you good at right now? What is the best demo you have right now? In what area do you have the most connections or credits right now? Go there. Do what you can do. Get your foot in the door that is already open a crack. For now, find the path of least resistance and use your resources strategically and creatively to get closer to where you want to go.

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Conversations occur in a wide variety of formats: having a brief exchange with someone while waiting in line… conducting a formal interview for a job… adding a comment on an internet forum… introducing yourself to someone at an event. Some conversations are spontaneous, some are planned, some go smoothly, while others end with you wishing the earth would open up and swallow you whole!

Adding to that variety, is the fact that conversations have several different parts: opening lines, segues, deflections, questions, and the (often vital) exit strategies.

Of course, the tricky thing is if you are thinking about all of those elements while you are actually having a conversation you will probably forget to attend to the most important part of the exchange: actively listening to what the other person is saying.

So, I thought it might be helpful to take a moment now – when the pressure is off – to examine ways you can get the most out of the conversations you have.

INITIATING CONVERSATIONS

One way to maximize business conversations is to initiate them yourself. Being willing and able to start conversations with people increases your odds of success. Whenever you get nervous about talking with folks, return to that thought and use it to motivate you.

Chatting with people is like playing a friendly game of verbal ping pong – just keep tapping the ball lightly back to them in a way that enables them to easily tap it back to you. Follow general conversation etiquette: If someone asks you a question, don’t just answer in one terse word or sentence that just sits there. Answer and ask questions in ways that keep the conversation flowing. Naturally, some of your attempts will completely bomb because, occasionally, you will meet people who are not interested in playing along.

But most conversations will go well if you do three basic things: a) express genuine interest in the person you are talking to (via eye contact, a smile, open and attentive body language, authentic curiosity), b) truly listen to what they are saying, and c) engage them as the person they are, not the job that they do.

I recommend preparing a short mental list of questions that will help you break the ice and generate interesting dialogue. Here are some suggestions:

:: So, what are you currently reading?

:: So, what is the best thing that has happen to you this week / today?

:: So, what are you focused on achieving these days?

:: So, what type of person would it be helpful for you to meet?

:: So, how do you know (the host) / When did you join (this organization)?

Try to avoid “What do you do?” or “What’s new with you / What have you done lately?” or statements like “It sure has been hot lately.”

DIRECTING CONVERSATIONS

A second way to maximize conversations is to reveal yourself in the best light possible. People believe the “you” you present. If your tone, body language, and words communicate that you consider your level of achievement to be “less than”… well, why would anyone doubt the authority? However, if you embody zest, positivity, and confidence, people will take you at your word. I’m not advocating that you be fake – not at all. I am recommending that you plan how to put the most positive spin on what’s been happening in your life. Select a few things you can highlight in conversations that will help you present your best self to the people you meet. You may never need to use these prepared tidbits, but they will be fresh and ready if you need them.

I encourage you to always have an answer for the question, “So, what have you done lately?” That seems to be the question everyone asks once they find out you are a performing artist. Most likely, people ask that question because they don’t know what else to ask you. They are just trying to keep the conversation going, so don’t feel obligated to recite your resume or offer a play-by-play of your last audition. Instead, turn this awkward question into an opportunity to re-direct the conversation and educate them about who you are and what you have to offer. They ask, “So, what have you done lately?” You reply, “I’ve been really busy – right now I’m researching how to land gigs as a voice talent for audio books. Do you enjoy listening to audio books?” Notice the pattern I am suggesting: First, deflect the actual question; second, share an aspect of what you are currently focused on achieving in your business; and third, ask them a question.

Remember, just because someone asks you a question doesn’t mean you have to answer it directly. Subtly take control and positively redirect the conversation. Then, keep it flowing by asking a question of your own. When you reply with a statement immediately followed by a question, you are graciously giving the listener two painless options. By saying, “Right now I’m researching how to land gigs as a voice talent for audio books. Do you like listening to audio books?” the other person can choose to answer the question and keep the conversation going in that direction or they can voluntarily engage you about the fact that you are a voice artist looking for performance opportunities in the audio book world.

However, if they ask what you’ve been up to and you reply with only a statement, “I’m researching how to land gigs as a voice talent for audio books,” you are forcing them to either engage you directly about your work or awkwardly and obviously gloss over what you just said with a “Hey, that’s cool,” and then labor to change the subject. (Be aware that when some people are backed into a conversational corner they will choose that moment to break away from you entirely. It’s perfectly alright to share your focus with someone who might be positioned to help you, but don’t just dump that fact in their lap and wait for them to do something with it.)

ENDING CONVERSATIONS

A third way to maximize conversations is to spend your time wisely. Sometimes that means using the current conversation to get a lead for your next conversation. And sometimes that means ending a dud conversation before it eats up more of your day.

Occasionally, you will meet people who are oblivious or who are so shy or inexperienced at networking that they will corner you and latch on tight. That is why you need to have a few good exit strategies up your sleeves at all times. (In the networking section of my book, Feeding Your Focus, I explain in detail ways to graciously end conversations. Just know that ending a chat with someone will rarely feel like an absolutely smooth transition.)

On the flip side, you will know a conversation is going well when the person you are talking to starts saying, “I think you should talk to so-and-so.” When someone starts voluntarily offering you connections from their mental database, it means they like you and trust that you to not to abuse their relationships.

That said, some folks might like you but the thought of who else you should meet just won’t enter their head. That’s why your last question should always be, “Can you think of anyone else who might be willing to offer me advice about…” whatever you want advice about. The exact phrasing of this question is important. Notice that you are asking, “Can you think of anyone,” which gives them an easy out in case they do know someone but don’t feel comfortable giving you a referral. They can simply reply, “No, I can’t think of anyone right now.”

The next part of the question is “who might be willing.” Here you are communicating that you understand that anyone they refer to you might not be willing to talk with you. You are relieving them of the burden of making certain that their referral bears fruit.

The last part of the question is, “to offer me advice?” Here you are assuring them that you will not make any other type of unsolicited request of the person being referred – that all you are looking for is guidance. Also, the more specific you are about what type of advice you want, the easier it is for your contact to search through their mental database.

“Can you think of anyone else who might be willing to offer me advice about…” whatever. Get in the habit of asking that question at the end of conversations so that each connection with someone generates one or more new leads without you having to do any extra work. This is a very strategic, efficient way to network. You get direct referrals and you have an automatic reason to touch base again with your original contact regarding how things went with the new person they referred you to. Wash, rinse, repeat.

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During organizing sessions, too often will I come across a tote bag filled to the brim and abandoned in a corner or tucked away in a closet. When I inquire about its contents, very often my client’s response is, “Oh, yeah, that’s info from the convention/conference/workshop I went to last year.” They attend, they gather, they never process. It’s a common scenario – and that tell-tale tote bag is evidence of money left on the table.

Reaping the full value of any big event is a combination of preparation, participation, and processing. While being educated and motivated by the speakers and interacting with your colleagues are satisfying and worthwhile activities, let me share with you some strategies to use before, during, and after to produce an even higher return on your investment of time, energy, and money.

BEFORE THE EVENT

1) Define Your Event Focus

Based on what you are focused on achieving during this phase of your voice over career, what do you specifically want to get out of this event? The more clearly defined your answer to that question is, the richer your experience of the event will be. Do you want to meet 3 people who may be open to mentoring you in the world of audio books? Do you want to learn 5 more ways to increase your audition opportunities as an Ohio-based voice talent? Do you want to gather samples of how other voice over animation artists are marketing themselves?

When you have a specific focus, you can create an agenda for yourself. Having an agenda in mind helps you propel yourself into a room full of strangers with a bit more confidence, motivation, and outer interest (as opposed to inner preoccupation).

When you have a specific focus, you’ll recognize more quickly when you are (or are not) receiving the information you need – from a conversation or a class or a product.

When you have a specific focus, you have an answer to that awkward question, “So, what’s new with you?” (Rather than offer your last credit, engage the person in advancing your agenda: “Well, today I’m on the lookout for information about _____ – do you know of any good sources?”)

2) Create a Target List

Research who the speakers are beyond their bios on the website. (Also, research any industry VIPs who you’ve heard might be present.) Rank them in the order of who you’d like to meet most. For the top 5-10 people on your list, write down two questions you’d like to ask them if you get to meet them (and, of course, if the timing is right.) Also, make a note about something they are currently doing or involved with that you could congratulate or compliment them on.

This is about creating luck by being prepared when opportunities arise. With a focus, you’ll have something to contribute to the conversation regarding yourself and, with your research, you’ll have something to contribute regarding them.

DURING THE EVENT

3) Take Now and Later Notes

Especially at large conventions with multiple speakers and an expo floor, it is easy to get overwhelmed. Everything you see and hear seems to beckon to you as something that can help you get ahead in your career. All of the products and services and classes you learn about can seem equally important to your immediate success. Your head may start to swim: “I definitely need to learn more about that! Yes, but I also need some of THAT! And THAT, too!”

Use your focus as an information filter. Use it to help you make choices between things that, at first, seem equally important or beneficial. Keep asking yourself: “How well (or how quickly) will this particular product or service help me feed my specific career focus?”

After you write them, make notes about your notes. Put an “F” near info that may directly help you feed your focus now and put an “L” near info that might be more helpful or interesting to you later on down the road. Put a “W” next to stuff that you want, but put an “N” next to stuff that you know you need.

4) Investigate the Offerings

Don’t just glide past those expo tables – giving them a 2 foot berth, not looking directly at the people behind the tables. Engage! Investigate! Explore! Really find out what exactly is being offered, who is doing the offering, what it costs, and how you can get it later if you desire. Ask the service and product providers who precisely they think will benefit from their wares? Who is their target market? Is it you? Why, exactly? Do you need it or even want it? Do you know someone for whom this product or service would be perfect (read: networking opportunity)? And don’t be afraid to share your focus with the folks behind the table and ask them if they know of a provider who might have something that fits your exact needs… sure, they are there to sell to as many people as they can, but, if they are smart and savvy, they will also be there to help as many people as they can.

AFTER THE EVENT

5) Take Time to Process

This is one of my best pieces of advice: Whenever you are going on a trip (business or personal – but especially when you are attending a business-related function where you will be gathering a lot of new info) extend your trip by one day – a secret day that you will actually spend at home. If you are coming home on a Tuesday, tell folks that you will be “back in the office” Thursday – not Wednesday. You need Wednesday for yourself. You need time to decompress, to transition back, and especially to process what you have just experienced. You need to sit down with yourself for a few quiet hours and dig through your tote bag of materials and reflect, brainstorm, and plan.

You have just spent hundreds of dollars to travel to and attend a function – by giving yourself this extra day, you will get 100% more bang for your buck.

If you don’t build this day into your travel schedule, then you will return home on Tuesday and, come Wednesday morning, everyone will expect you to be returning calls and emails and generally picking up where you left off. (And that career-enhancing gem of an idea will stay buried in your tote bag.)

Sometimes, there is no possible way for you to add an extra day. (But make certain this is truly the case and not you just bending to society’s workaholic bloodlust!) If you can’t add a secret day, then make sure to clear your schedule for the first 3 nights you are back home or for a 6 hour block on the very next weekend. Your mind needs this time and space. As does your body and soul.

6) Thank and Connect

If you are an incredibly social person, you may return from an event with a stack of business cards and contact info. Before you shove them into a drawer or enter them all into your database, give them a quick sort. Who are the folks who can help you feed your focus now? Spend your time on those people (as many of them as you can handle without stress) and consider letting the rest go. Effective networking always puts quality over quantity. Consider the time you have available and then use it to send thank yous, do follow-ups, and nurture connections.

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Establishing a career in any industry – but especially the entertainment industry – has two requirements. The first and most obvious requirement is that you gradually elevate your talent, technique, and tools to a competitive, professional level. Understandably, that’s the goal most artists concern themselves with and direct their time, energy, and money toward.

However, unless you make an equal investment of time and energy in the second requirement of a career, your progress will eventually stall. I’ve seen this theory borne out with many of my clients; as we talk, I discover that their career has “hit a wall” precisely because have been neglecting the second requirement, which is…

…connecting with and contributing to the people in your industry.

You have to get to know who is in your industry – on all levels. Who are your peers? Who are the up-and-comers? Who are the leaders and influencers? Who are the stars and the veterans? Who are the people in positions to recommend you? Who are the people in positions to hire you?

And, if you really want to build a career, you have to find ways to connect with these folks and positively contribute to their success. This is what I call achieving “success through service” (a phrase and concept introduced to me by Kevin E. West and Paulo Andres at The Actors’ Network, www.actors-network.com). You can help yourself succeed by contributing to the success of others.

Before I go any further, I want to clarify what I mean by “service” because some of you may have a tendency to take it to its literal extreme. This is not about giving, giving, giving to the detriment of your own career. This is not about exhausting your own personal resources strictly for the betterment of others. What I’m talking about is service in the context of business – where the genuine help you provide to individuals or to your community strategically contributes directly or indirectly to your own success as well. It’s about creating situations, initiating exchanges, or volunteering resources with the intention of enhancing the lives and/or livelihoods of everyone involved. You intention is the key. What elevates your actions to “service” is the altruistic intent behind them.

Here are several ways to incorporate service into your business plan:

PARTICIPATE

While it’s certainly true that a conference – like the recent VOICE 2008 – would be pointless if no one actually showed up, it would also be far less dynamic and worthwhile if folks didn’t actively and enthusiastically participate while there. You are serving your community by participating at any event, conference, or workshop (or posting on a blog or forum for that matter) with a positive, inquisitive, open attitude. Your presence, your subscriptions, your memberships, your input, your purchases are all ways you can send signals to your colleagues that you support their efforts, their ideas, and their contributions.

Participating enables you to strengthen your personal network and become more of a known quantity. People like to help people they like so by becoming an active participant in your industry, you are putting yourself squarely in the path of opportunity.

VOLUNTEER

As you already know, donating your time, energy, talents, and/or skills is always a meaningful way to serve and support your community. And one of the very best things about volunteering is…

…it enables you to network UP! Networking with your peers is important, but so is finding ways to connect with people in higher social circles or more experienced business circles than your own. Volunteering for an industry event elevates you, within that context, to a level of peer with everyone else who is involved with the running if the event. This is a potent atmosphere in which to network with people who might otherwise be difficult to reach. They will be predisposed to feeling comfortable with you because you share a common interest in the event, organization, or cause for which you are volunteering and they appreciate you donating your time. Networking up the ladder definitely helps you move your career forward faster.

AGGREGATE INFORMATION

With wave after wave of information crashing daily on our mental shores, those select folks who consistently track, organize, condense, and deliver a digestible stream of the most relevant and important pieces of industry news (or leads on job opportunities) are offering an incredible service to their community. Likewise, the creators of forums and websites that provide hubs for the exchange of ideas and information are serving their colleagues well.

Becoming an aggregate of information enables you to raise your profile within your industry. When you establish a reputation as a knowledgeable, reliable source of helpful information you gain people’s attention and trust and, as a result, you become an influencer.

CREATE OPPORTUNITIES

While aggregates of information devote themselves to helping a large amount of people, equally significant are those folks who exhibit a true generosity of spirit by leveraging their own position to create opportunities for other individuals to advance. This has a positive impact not only on those involved in the immediate exchange, but also on the industry as a whole because you are serving as a role model. By creating opportunities for colleagues you demonstrate confidence in yourself and in the fact that there is enough (of everything, really) to go around.

Creating opportunities for others enables you to generate fans. Just as when you nail a VO spot for a client, when you reach out and open a door in the industry for someone else, you rise to a “top-of-mind” position in that person’s awareness. Not only do they remember you, but they also look for ways to return the service in kind.

ESTABLISH VEHICLES

Landing high-profile jobs and developing a significant body of work is definitely one way you become known and respected in your field – to leave a bit of a legacy. But the second way to garner the admiration and respect of people you admire and respect is to use your talents to create new vehicles for the industry that generate ongoing, lasting improvements to people’s careers. Merely three examples of many: James Alburger & Penny Abshire have done this with their VOICE conference. Dave Sebastian Williams has done this with his Voice Over Resource Guide. Roy Samuelson has done this with his Voice Over Work Out Lounge in L.A..

Establishing vehicles enables you to become a leader within your industry. When you take it upon yourself to lead and make life better for others, you generate a load of great karma coming back your way.

As one last example, let me briefly profile how Julie Williams embraced success through service during VOICE 2008 using all five methods:

Julie participated by attending the conference. She volunteered to share her knowledge by speaking at the event. Her forum at Voice-Overs.com serves as an on-going aggregate of information and community connection. She created opportunities for individuals to network at the conference by hosting her early-evening mixer on Friday night and by inviting me to share her booth. And, by publishing this free VoiceOver Insider magazine, she has established a vehicle that delivers career-enhancing education and information to her industry on a regular basis.

At the end of the day, Julie Williams is a businesswoman who wants to boost her bottom line. But it is remarkable how many people she continues to help on the way to helping herself.

While I encourage you to embrace the concept of success through service, I remind you to do so strategically. Give and serve generously and genuinely but do so in a manner that enhances your career. Whenever you are making an investment of time, energy or money, it is absolutely appropriate to ask yourself, “How can I make this situation work best for me?” – especially when your resources are limited. Choose the position, activity, or vehicle that will best feed your focus.

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At different times throughout your professional life you will feel like you are stuck or your career is stalled or your creativity is stagnant. This happens to everyone. Therefore, the goal is not to try to avoid “stuckness” (because you can’t.) The true goal is to try to spend as little time as possible in that condition.

The fastest, most effective way to get un-stuck is to start extending yourself. Extending yourself out into the world means going beyond your home office and your recording studio and your computer to connect and network directly with people in your industry, by phone or in person.

This is a requirement of success.

You see, when you first get off the bus to start your voice over career, there is plenty to do: take classes, make a demo, set up your studio, learn the software, etc. And, as you travel down your road doing these things, eventually you will reach a chasm that you must cross before you can travel any farther. You will reach a place where, in order to continue to progress in your career, you must start extending yourself.

For the folks who are natural networkers, this “chasm” probably looks like a mere crack in the ground which they are able to hop right over and continue on their way. Lucky them. However, when I was pursuing my acting career, it seemed like I was standing at lip of a vast canyon and the only way to cross it was on a rickety, swaying rope bridge and, were I to be rejected by someone, I would fall to certain death on the sharp spikes far below.

Yes, I dreaded networking. Oh, how I wanted someone to “discover” me and carry me across the chasm! I wanted someone well-connected to introduce me to everyone they knew so I wouldn’t have to make contacts of my own. But it doesn’t work that way.

So I stayed on the “safe” side, as many folks do, and my acting career, despite my potential, talents, and skills, never went beyond a certain level. When you prolong your stay on the safe side of the chasm, you start to fill your time up with activities – taking another class, tinkering with your demo, tweaking your website – rather than with actions that actually move you forward.

Moving forward requires extending yourself. And extending yourself means meeting people by choice.

We meet people in two ways – by chance or by choice. You probably meet wonderful people by chance all the time – at a dinner party, on the subway, at a convention. Some of these people may even be able to help you with your career. Fantastic! But, when you are already meeting a lot of people by chance, you can understandably forget to (or neglect to) utilize one of the most powerful career-boosting tools available to you: meeting people by choice.

Find people who have information, connections, and experience that you can benefit from and extend yourself to connect with them. This is a wise investment of your time, energy and money.

“But,” you might be thinking, “what in the world do I say to them?”

A very effective way to start a relationship with someone – especially someone who doesn’t know you at all – is to ask them for guidance: “When you have a break in your schedule, I’d really love to have coffee with you – I have three questions that I’d really appreciate getting your guidance on.”

First of all, this request is flattering. “Coffee” conveys that the meeting will be short, your treat, and at their complete convenience. Saying “I have three questions” demonstrates that you respect their time because it implies you have sought them out for a particular reason, you will come prepared, and their advice will eagerly absorbed. Stating that you are seeking only guidance reassures them that you won’t be angling for a job or a favor. All of these elements work in concert to lower the person’s defenses about talking with someone they do not know.

Coffee is merely a suggestion – depending on the particular person and the particular circumstances, it could be ice cream or drinks or lunch or whatever. And don’t be surprised if they request that you have a phone meeting instead. For exceptionally busy people that can be more convenient and easier to schedule. Definitely have 7-10 questions prepared, but honor the limits of your request. When you’ve asked three questions, or talked for 20 minutes, mention that fact. This provides the person with a way to end the conversation if they can’t (or no longer want to) continue the conversation. Chances are, precisely because you are paying attention and graciously gave them an out, you will find they will be open to offering you even more of their time.

In the example above, you are going into the meeting with a set of questions you’d love to get answers to or situations you like to get advice on. Occasionally though, one of your friends or colleagues will connect you with someone they think you should meet. Although you and the person have this mutual friend in common, choosing to extending yourself can feel awkward because there is no set agenda. Again, what in the world are you supposed to talk about with this stranger?

As I struggled with strengthening my networking skills, I remember being so relieved when I heard about the following technique. I don’t remember where I read about it, but I now refer to it as my golden nugget game. I use it whenever I have to circulate in a room full of unfamiliar people – and it can be applied to “blind career dates” with equal success. I explain how it works in this video clip.

The great part about doing whatever it takes to get yourself across the chasm is you will be expanding not only your network but also your comfort zone. The willingness to extend yourself and your effectiveness in doing so can make the difference between building a good career and building a truly great one.

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Since I started contributing to The VoiceOver Insider in June, several of my previous columns have highlighted the “language of networking” because it is such a crucial element of career advancement. The results – positive or negative – of your interpersonal communication are influenced not only by what you say but also by how you chose to phrase it.

So far, I’ve offered suggestions about how to initiate conversations, steer conversations, end conversations, and request meetings (or “coffee dates.”) This month we’re focusing on how to extend yourself in two additional areas: how to gracefully rejuvenate relationships and how to establish boundaries.

REJUVENATING RELATIONSHIPS

You are doing yourself and your career a grave disservice if you hold on to the limiting belief that it’s ever “too late” to contact someone. It’s never too late. It’s never too late to say “hi” or “thank you” or to share a compliment. Case in point: this is an email I received just last month from a director I worked with on two projects while she was at USC film school:

Kristine!

It’s been at least 6.5 years since we last emailed and it was at least a year or two before that since I saw you. How are you?

I thought of you because I’m shooting a little fun video–it’s a spoof video to help the “No On Prop 8″ cause. We lost an actress (the central role) and need to replace her before tonight. It’s just a little video – a few friends getting together to help a worthy cause but we’ve had some talented performers working on it so I’m hoping it will be very good. Anyway, was going through my mind of actresses I know that might fit the part and you popped in. It’s kinda an improv comedy piece so I guess I’d need you to have a little experience/be good at that sort of thing.

So let me know if you are free tonight. We’re just shooting at my house starting at 7pm. Can’t offer much besides food, tape and hopefully fun but let me know if you are interested.

Hope you are well!

Sarah

You may be pleasantly surprised by how often people will remember you and how open they will be to reconnecting with you – especially if your approach is genuine and gracious. For example, let’s say you want to get back in touch with a person you haven’t had contact with in a couple of years BUT you feel you were the one who dropped the networking ball and let the relationship lapse AND you have no concrete reason at the moment for contacting them aside from the fact that you want to rejuvenate the relationship because it might be useful in the future.

Consider this phrasing (suitable for a written or verbal delivery):

“You know, I was sitting in traffic the other day and I started thinking about the people who have contributed to my success (or progress) over the past few years and your name popped into my head. So I just wanted to say hello again and ____. “

(After the “and” you can make a request like: “…and see if you have time next week to catch up over coffee – my treat.” Or, if you just want to bring them back onto your regular mailing list, you could end with: “…and let you know I am sending good wishes your way. My current number / email is ____.”)

If someone left you a message or wrote you a note like this, how would you feel? Would you dismiss them merely because you hadn’t heard from them in awhile? Wouldn’t you feel a little bit flattered because they thought of you in the context of contributing to their success? Maybe you’d even feel a tad relieved that they re-extended themselves again, relieving you of that duty. What commonly prevents us from extending ourselves to the people from our past is a concern that the person will feel intruded upon or be holding some sort of grudge against us. Frankly, I think the worst reaction you will ever get is ambivalence. More often than not though, your networking will be welcomed warmly.

Here are two tips:

1) One way to prevent relationships from lapsing is, when you begin them (or begin them again), just ask: “Would it be okay if I occasionally kept you posted about my progress?” This is a good line to throw in at the end of a conversation or when you are thanking someone for something. Even folks who are much higher up the career ladder than you are will probably say “sure.” (Using the word “occasionally” helps lower their defenses!)

2) For those times when you want to leave a voice mail message without the risk of the person actually answering their phone, use this free service which connects you directly to the voice mail of the person’s cell phone: http://www.slydial.com

ESTABLISHING BOUNDARIES

Keep in mind that everyone has their own agenda. People can be very persistent – sometimes sweetly and lovingly persistent – about getting you to help them with their agendas. However, moving forward faster in the direction you want to go requires saying “no” to requests or opportunities that will take too much time, energy, and/or money away from your own focus.

For many people, saying “no” is something they have to actually learn how to do. My life coach spent several years helping me to build that particular muscle! The two reasons we often say “yes” to something we later regret are a) we answer impulsively because the request or opportunity sounds good in the moment or b) we accept the task to avoid the emotional discomfort (arising from our own issues with guilt, duty, social pressure, etc.) that would come with saying “no.”

I’m sure you’ve heard the adage: “’No’ is a complete sentence.” And it is. But that usually doesn’t stop people from pressing you to explain why you are saying no. The reason they want to know your excuse is so they can offer counter arguments to persuade you to change your position. It’s simply human nature to want to fulfill one’s own agenda. Here are some coping tools to keep handy in your verbal toolbox:

If you find yourself agreeing to a lot of things on impulse, work to make your habitual response to a request: “Sounds interesting, let me sleep on it.” If they persist, counter with, “I’m just the type of person who need time to think about things like that – I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”

When you’ve decided your answer is “no,” I suggest saying: “I appreciate you asking me and that sounds incredibly tempting but, were I to take that on, I would have to back out of something else I have already committed to and I can’t justify doing that.”

That statement is effective because it is kind and gentle and it doesn’t leave the person hearing it much wiggle room. Their argument would have to be “but I want you to flake out on someone else to accommodate me” (which most folks wouldn’t have the nerve to actually say.)

Occasionally you will encounter a person who makes continuous requests or who desires more of your time, energy, or money than you can or want to give. With individuals like that, you need establish clear personal boundaries by giving them as kind and as definitive an answer as you possibly can. Something like: “Unfortunately, I can not help you in the way(s) that I know you wish I could. I suggest you check out ____.” (Steer them toward a book, website or other helpful resource if you can.)

Finally, one last tip:

Shift your perspective; rather than treating the unwanted requests that bombard your inbox as burdens, treat each one as an opportunity to do another metaphorical rep to strengthen your “saying no” muscle. That muscle needs to be well developed because the closer you get to achieving the success you say you want to have, the more requests and opportunities will come your way.

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In 2006, I decided I was going to write what eventually (after 18 months) became my book, Feeding Your Focus. I had never written a book before and it was, at the time, the biggest goal I had ever declared publicly in my life. I definitely had doubts about whether I could actually do it. While I was confident that I had quality information to share and that I could articulate it well, I was not certain if I’d be able to stay the course for the duration of such a long-term project. Even as an organized, disciplined person, I knew the siren songs of paying clients, social invitations, and household obligations would be difficult to resist.

Fortunately, I understood what big projects – like writing a book or boosting yourself to the next level your career – truly require: You have to make room for them in your schedule and you have to find sources of support and accountability to help you get through the rough spots.

Support and accountability are vital elements of success, especially for anyone pursuing an artistic career. As you know, the onus for adding structure to your creative life falls squarely on your shoulders. What we are examining this month is how you can and why you should reach out to others to get the help and motivation you need.

Before I wrote a single word of my book, I asked seven people to commit to being my readers. Each person was chosen because they could contribute a particular point of view and they would be very honest in their feedback. But, more importantly, these were people I highly respected and I knew I would feel genuinely embarrassed if I told them I was going to write a book and then never finished! To my great good fortune, everyone I asked committed to the project. Suddenly, I had seven friends and family members, each of whom I admired, enthusiastically and continuously inquiring when the next sections of my book would be ready to review.

For that particular endeavor, I needed and wanted a team. Most of the time, however, having just one or two people in your corner will make all the difference in the world. But why exactly?

Well, for starters, declaring your goals out loud and enlisting someone to kindly kick your butt along the way instantly makes the project larger than just you. This lends gravitas to your goal – other people know about it, other people are following your progress – which is what will enable you to reserve and protect the time, energy, and money you will need to accomplish it.

Also, we humans seem to respond better when there is a source of external pressure. When a source of such pressure is lacking, you have to generate one yourself. While the world at large doesn’t really care whether or not you ever become a great animation voice talent, having a coach or teacher or friend or family member actively interested in facilitating your progress toward that goal can motivate you to really give it your all. And when defeatist thoughts creep in (which they naturally will), you’ll benefit greatly by hearing the voice of someone you trust and respect contradict your self-doubts.

Plus, having cheerleaders and fans-in-the-stands makes life more fun! Being a solo entrepreneur (which we artists are) can get lonely. Ours certainly isn’t an industry that sustains you with a lot of nurturing feedback. Your ability to achieve your dreams will be commensurate with your willingness to extend yourself to quality people and enlist them as members of your team.

Okay, so, how do you do that?

You get people’s support by 1) asking for it and by 2) being supportive to them.

Learning to ask for what you want specifically and graciously is a skill well worth developing. The same can be said for learning how to talk about your accomplishments and goals (or, as Peggy Klaus says in her book, Brag, learning how to “toot your own horn without blowing it”). Many folks wait to share what is going in their careers until they have some grand victory to report, but, very often, people are just as interested in following your journey. People like to feel they played a part – even as simply a cheerleader – in other people’s success.

As you begin to tackle the next step towards your goal, consider asking someone to be your accountability buddy. Accountability requires that you break down your goal into specific tasks with measurable results – the more specific and measurable the better. This enables you to tell your buddy exactly what you hope to accomplish next and when you would like to check in with them to report on the results. For example, you could say to your buddy: “By the end of this week, I will have researched and called 4 audio book production companies to see how they scout for new voice talent. Can you call me on Thursday to see where I am on this?” Or, “May I leave you a voice mail message as soon as I have talked with all 4 companies? I’m going to shoot for getting the calls made by the 18th of this month.”

A side benefit of measuring and tracking the actions you take and the results you get, is that you are able to adjust your methods and modify your behavior to keep yourself moving forward faster in the direction you want to go. This prevents your days and months and years from quietly slipping by.

You can get a tremendous amount of support and accountability for free. That said, some folks find investing monetarily to have a coach or a teacher provide accountability is a highly effective motivator. (I still can’t fathom why I have to pay someone to count my ab crunches in order to get them done… but I do.) Expert coaches and teachers not only help you define actions steps and put them in the most effective order, but also help you take action outside of your comfort zone and reach for higher goals than you may have envisioned for yourself. Feel free to enlist different buddies, teachers, or coaches for different goals you are simultaneously working on.

A simple way to update people on your progress is with a quarterly or bi-annual emails. “Hope this note finds you well and enjoying life, spring went by fast but some great stuff happened. Highlights are below.” Be brief, informative, and friendly. By sharing your progress with your contacts in the industry, you will gradually build a reputation as a proactive, professional artist. These emails may not always get opened, but the recipient will be reminded of you, hopefully wish you well, and make the natural assumption that you are still in the game!

There are several email updates that I always open because these clever folks routinely include something of interest to their audience – maybe it’s a quick tidbit about a new gadget or a link to a relevant website or even just a sentence that says “and let me know if I can ever be of assistance to you.” (Often they include a line about how someone can opt out of their list with no hard feelings.) This is the principal of success through service. The easiest way to generate abundant interest and support and enthusiasm for the projects you are working on is to offer genuine interest and support and enthusiasm to others. I am amazed at the amount of goodwill I must have accrued over the years with the seven busy people who chose to spend so much time listening to and offering notes on my book – for free. And, of course, by doing so, they have each banked years worth of goodwill with me. That is an extraordinary example, but, without a doubt, you will find that even small gestures of thoughtfulness go a remarkably long way.

I know some of you take pride in your self-sufficiency – I do too. However, like everything, the quality of self-sufficiency has a yin and a yang to it, a light side and a dark side. The strength of self-sufficiency is that you will maximize the help you receive; You won’t need folks to hold your hand though every step of the process. On the flip side though, a strict adherence to doing everything for yourself and by yourself (due to pride or inhibitions) can significantly limit how far and how fast you advance in your career. Remember: Nothing of significance is ever achieved alone. That I know for sure.

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At any point in time, you can draw a line in the sand, step over it, and declare a fresh start. But I love Januarys because the changing of each year serves as a reminder to reflect upon our priorities and take stock of whether or not our routine actions are in alignment with what is necessary to achieve our dreams.

During this month of resolutions and fresh starts, I usually get new organizing clients and new career strategy clients who want to address the subject of balance. Often these creative, artistic folks are frustrated because no matter how much planning and time managing and schedule re-arranging they do, their days, their weeks, their lives still feel very out of whack. They want to know if I have any advice that might help them gain the elusive peace that is supposed to come once they figure out how to attend to each part of their life in equal measure.

This issue of “life balance” was a nut my creative side had been wanting my organizer side to crack for a long time. Over the years I thought about it a lot, examined it from different angles with different clients, and experimented with different methodologies and time management tools. I finally had a slight yet noteworthy shift in perspective regarding this conundrum that has made all the difference for me.

I realized that most of us have been trying to attain the feeling of a balanced life by attempting to “balance” all of the things we do. We struggle to spend enough time on the business of our career, enough time on the creative stuff, enough time with the family, enough time managing our household, enough time socializing, etc. On top of that, we struggle to determine how much time is actually “enough time” for each of these areas!

But why doesn’t that work? Why do efforts to plan and schedule and time manage so often fail to reduce feelings of stress?

The reason is because a balanced life is one in which equal measure is given to the two parts of your life: the “doing” part and the “being” (or “not-doing”) part. These are the two ends of life’s teeter totter. If you are denying yourself the time you need to just be… to be still, calm, quiet… then, regardless of how much you arrange and rearrange the doing parts of your life, you most likely won’t find the satisfaction and sense of peace you seek. Your teeter totter will remain lopsided.

Without enough being, our lives become consumed with doing and that is why they so often feel out of balance.

Ideas, inspirations, solutions, and personal growth usually come forth during times of just being… when you allow your mind to calm down and drift without an agenda. If you ever feel burnt out or like your well of creativity has run dry, chances are you haven’t been giving yourself enough time to simply be. Being time can be quiet and still like meditation, or it can take the form of easy, rhythmic activity that allows your mind to wander (like washing the dishes, or petting your cat, or writing Morning Pages, or doodling, or going for a walk.) Please note: Thinking does not draw your creativity forth, being does. Thinking is just “doing” in your head. When you hear someone say “that great idea just popped into my mind while I was taking a shower” the odds are that happened because they were just there, present in the moment, going through the motions of washing, and letting their mind relax. If, instead, they had been taking a shower and worrying about what they were going to wear that night or mentally composing a shopping list, chances are that great idea would not have had the room to bloom.

Without enough of this type of non-results-oriented time you cannot rejuvenate, nourish, or replenish your creative self, nor can you hear your gut, nor can you feed your soul.

Time spent “being” is too often considered an indulgence. But it is not. It is the other, equally important half of our human existence. Being allows new ideas to bubble forth. Then you act on those ideas by doing, by making plans and executing them. When you get depleted, that signals it’s time to allow yourself to be. Once you get rejuvenated, you can go forth and do with increased passion, intensity, and enjoyment.

When folks come to me for help, they usually come with the expectation that I am going to help them squeeze even more doing into their days. I, however, have a different goal. My intention is to help them become focused and organized so that they become more clear about what is most important for them to do and become more efficient at doing it. Once that happens, so much more of their time and energy becomes available for being. And, once they strike a better balance being doing and being, they can truly soar towards reaching their full potential.

But here’s another thing about this topic that I’ve learned along the way: some people are very resistant to allowing themselves to be. Although they sincerely want to relieve the stress that is generated by the imbalance of constantly doing, doing, doing, they also want to avoid any discomfort or disappointment they suspect will arise if they allow themselves some downtime. Some people are fearful that no new ideas or inspiration will come forth. Some people fear giving up the feeling of control that doing produces. Some people fear that if they get off the treadmill and allow themselves being time they will never ever get back to actually doing anything. Some people even feel they don’t deserve to take care of themselves in this way. Allowing yourself being time may feel odd or uncomfortable or wasteful at first. But, trust me, those feelings are temporary and any initial discomfort will seem a very small price to pay in comparison to what you will gain from this process.

The bottom line is, if you truly want to achieve the creative success that you say you want, you can’t afford to squander your time, energy, and money in a relentless whirl of doing. Not only will you burn yourself out, but also, you can start down the slippery slope of using your valuable resources to serve other people’s agendas. When you don’t routinely take time to stoke your passion or check-in with your gut instincts, your schedule can easily become loaded down with action tied to what people think you “should” do, what your guilt tells you “must” do, what your unfocused interest strays to, or what you’ve just always done in the past. This is the quicksand that too many dreams drown in.

Right now, at the start this brand new year, consider how you’d like to grow, personally and professionally, during the next twelve months. What would that require? What might you need to add to your life? What might you need to subtract? Ask these questions then take some time to be. Patiently, calmly, open-heartedly listen to what your self has to say…

…then chose what you truly want to do.

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In the eight months I’ve been contributing this column to The VoiceOver Insider, I’ve written a lot about how to extend yourself, communicate, and genuinely connect with people. This month I want to suggest a structure you can use to keep track of and continue to nurture the contacts you are making.

Basically, the building of any artistic career boils down to moving names across three sheets of paper. That’s it. When you get up in the morning, your job as a voice-over artist is to do what is needed to move more and more quality people across these three pieces of paper: from your cold list to your warm list to your hot list.

On the Hot List are people who, if they heard your name, would recognize it and react positively. Your list will cover many degrees of “hotness,” from newly positive supporters all the way to your loyal raving fans.

On the Warm List are people who are aware of you but who can’t yet be classified as fans or close acquaintances.

On the Cold List are people whom you want to meet but who don’t yet know you. Your cold list may be subdivided into several lists of the types of people you are targeting: a casting director target list, a mentor target list, a writers target list, etc.

Quite often contacts will move linearly, from cold to warm to hot, but not always. After just one great conversation, a brand new contact can immediately leap to your hot list if you sense they really connected with you and are in your corner. With other folks, it could take longer to establish a connection and they might remain on your cold or warm lists for months or even years.

For example: let’s say, a casting director calls you in once. Well, there are many reasons you can get in a casting office once: they like your demo, they are curious, you were recommended, they have received your marketing materials, they are seeing you as a favor to someone, etc. If you are called in once, they have an awareness of you so they can be moved to your warm list. Now, if you get called into that office for a second time, they can be moved to your hot list (based on the assumption that a casting director probably wouldn’t invite you back unless they liked your work. So now they can be considered a fan.) Of course, if, at your first audition, they spontaneously erupt with joy and say something along the lines of, “Wow, that was amazing work! Why haven’t I seen you before?” then you can put them directly your hot list.

Keep in mind that the quality of the people on your lists is more important than the quantity. He who collects the most business cards does not necessarily win. Not at all. Don’t fall into a networking frenzy – connecting willy-nilly with everyone in sight. You can’t afford to squander time and energy on such unproductive activity. Instead, strive to keep your networking activity specific, manageable, and consistent. Let’s discuss those three components in more detail.

First, you need to keep your networking specific.

As I’ve mentioned here before, you will meet people by one of two ways: by chance or by choice. By chance you might be introduced to someone at a friend’s dinner party or by chance you might sit next to someone interesting at a seminar. These serendipitous connections are a wonderful aspect of life. The people you connect with by chance should immediately go onto your warm or hot list, because, at the very least, they have an awareness of who you are. The people you are trying to connect with by choice (if they don’t know who you are yet) start out on your cold list. Before a person gets added to your cold list, you should know specifically who they are and specifically why you want to connect with them. This is the difference between trying to keep in touch with every single producer in town versus concentrating your time and energy on building relationships with a few, strategically chosen producers who have the greatest potential of helping you get where you want to go. A great thing about life is that there is usually always a way, with enough determination, to connect with anyone on Earth whom you choose to.

Second, you need to keep your networking manageable.

Whether you are a natural born networker or not, you to need to be able to connect with your contacts consistently. As your hot list and warm list grow, you’ll have more names to manage, so your cold list may have to shrink. What is manageable for you depends upon the amount of time you have to devote to networking as well as the amount of energy. The less comfortable you are at connecting with others, the more of your energy that activity will take. Given the same amount of time each week, a natural born networker might be able to connect with four or five cold list targets, while a more introverted person might only be able to reach out to one or two. But, believe me, if those one or two cold targets are strategically chosen, the more reserved person can be moving herself forward just as fast as the extrovert.

Third, you need to keep your networking consistent.

Everyone on your cold, warm, and hot lists needs to be consistently reminded that you are alive, that you are still in the industry, and that you are actively pursuing your passion. If people do not hear from you, it is very easy for them to assume you have moved on or given up. Hearing from you every so often brings you back onto their radar, even if just for a moment, and, if the timing is right, they might be prompted to think of a way they can help you. Networking consistently doesn’t mean that you have to connect with every person on every list in the same way or with the same frequency. Some folks you may contact just once a year, some every six months, some once or twice a month – it depends on what you think is necessary to maintain or build a relationship with them. Effectively keeping in touch with one person might mean calling them once a year. Effectively keeping in touch with another person might require sending them a postcard once a month. Keep in mind that someone who connects consistently with 20 contacts can be networking more effectively than someone who hardly ever interacts with the hundreds of people in their database.

Here’s a little assignment for you…

First, if you do not yet have a place where all of your contact information is gathered, get one. Use whatever database works best for you: handwritten lists, a computer program, a Rolodex, an Excel spreadsheet, etc. If you already have a database but it’s been neglected, dust it off and update it. Being able to manage your contact information is a fundamental requirement of success; it is worth taking the time to chip away at this project until it is up to speed.

Next, take a step back, look at your contact list, and remind yourself of who you already know. Who are your Hot contacts? When was the last time to touched base with them? Who is Warm? What might you be able to do to move them up a few degrees? Can any of your Hot people help you move your Warm people? So often artists are completely underutilizing the contacts they already have simply because they forget about them.

Now, create your cold list. The big question is “Who should go on my Cold List?” Which is the same question as, “Who do I need or want to meet?” But, in order to answer that question, you need to answer this one: “What am I specifically focused on achieving in my career at this point in time?” (That’s where my clients and I always start.) Once you answer THAT question, your mind shifts from vagueness to clarity and it becomes much easier to identify targets and figure out how to build and sustain relationships with them.

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In this, the last of my year of career strategy columns for The Voice Over Insider, I want to share a few thoughts about making money.

The good news is: You can definitely earn a full-time income via your voice over talents and skills.

The other news is: You have to keep in mind that you are paid for doing business (a.k.a. adding value or being of service), not for making art. From time to time, you may be celebrated for your art… but you only get paid for doing business, for providing something that others want and need.

If you simply want to do voice overs for the fun of doing voice overs, abundant opportunities exist for you to do so each and every day and live a very fulfilling life. Ahhh, but the minute you desire that your voice over talents produce income, you shift from being an artist to being an artistic entrepreneur. If you want to get paid (and especially if you want to earn a living) in the VO industry, you have to start doing business in addition to creating art. That entails: selecting and feeding a specific focus, maximizing your resources, extending yourself to create and nurture relationships, consistently marketing the ways in which you can add value and be of service, honing your skills to a competitive level, investing in the necessary equipment, keeping abreast of the changing technology, etc. (You know, all the stuff I’ve been writing about in the last twelve months.)

This sounds logical enough. Yet, there is a significant difference between understanding the logic of what’s involved with building a career that generates income and committing to the reality of actually doing what it takes.

Most of my career strategy clients come to me because they are frustrated. Many of those clients are frustrated with their lack of progress in their chosen creative field. (“Lack of progress” usually being code for “lack of income.”) What I help them recognize is that all frustrations are tied directly to expectations. They feel frustrated with their progress because they are attached to the expectation that the actions they are taking and the amount of effort they are expending “should be enough” to produce the income that they desire.

Says who?

Our expectations are just stories we make up… or stories that other people tell us that we believe (“Recording a fabulous demo and mailing it out will get you an agent.”) The fact remains that if you are not producing the amount of income you desire, you are not doing business as efficiently, effectively, consistently, creatively, professionally, and/or joyfully as is required at this point in time. A large part of your journey toward financial success as an artistic entrepreneur in the voice over industry involves figuring out what needs to be refined, tweaked, embraced, risked, let go of, or dealt with in your life, both personally and professionally.

That’s a lot but, like I said, it’s a journey. Just keep in mind that doing what you love to do is a separate activity from generating opportunities to get paid for doing what you love to do. You can create your art right now. You can utilize your voice over talents whenever you want to. But creating a reputation and a business that will enable you to remain steadily employed in the voice over industry will take some time.

One of my earliest clients, top VO artist Ann DeWig, was recently interviewed by Ryan Drean for his Ryan On The Radio Producers Podcast and I thought the guidance she gave was spot-on (the recording is in the “past episodes” area.) At the very end of the interview, Ryan asked Ann, “What is the most important piece of advice you can give the up-and-comer that you think is the key thing for them to know?’

Ann replied: “Patience. It doesn’t happen overnight. You don’t get better overnight. You don’t get amazing overnight… and people aren’t going to figure out who you are overnight. If you decide to embark on a voice over career, give yourself five to ten years. Really, I’m not joking. And a lot of people think, ‘But I don’t have that kind of time!’ But it’s like a doctor or lawyer going to school, only we don’t have a school. Real life is our school. So, if your first year you make $3,000, the next year you make $6,000, the next year you make $18,000, the next year $40,000… give yourself five to ten years to really make the friends, develop the skills, work on your craft. Patience, that’s my advice.”

It may take you five years before you start to steadily earn over $50,000 a year. It might take someone else nine years to get to that same place. But without the patience (and discipline and faith in yourself) to focus on what you are passionate about doing and consistently put one foot in front of the other to do it, neither of you will ever get there.

Once someone makes the conscious shift from being an artist to being an artistic entrepreneur, they can become consumed with the quest to make money in their chosen field immediately. The need to produce income is a heavy burden for a burgeoning VO career to bear. Among other things, this need can generate stress, dampen your courage to take risks, and disconnect you from your passion. The longer you can give yourself to develop your business without requiring it to fully support you, the quicker you will reach the point where it actually will. Paradoxical, but proven.

I realize not every voice over artist has the ambition to shift from artist to artistic entrepreneur. That’s absolutely, 100% fine! But for those of you who do have that level of ambition, I wanted to offer a snapshot of what it truly takes to “do what you love” in a way that best guarantees that money actually will follow.

As Walt Disney succinctly put it: “We don’t make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies.”

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