General

Recently I stopped working with a client that I had been serving for almost exactly 10 years. While, the work I did for them included voiceovers, most of what I did for them was production and writing. 10 years ago, production and writing were a part of the mix of services I provided for my clients. Today, my focus is voiceover work.

Now, I loved working with these folks. I mean I really loved everything about working with them. They were not only nice people, they had very high standards, which helped to keep me sharp. They were always searching for ways to do things better. They valued my suggestions. I even traveled every quarter so we could plan our next steps in a face-to-face setting, paying for that travel out of my own pocket.

Then, a few months ago, they were presented with an opportunity to tremendously expand what they are doing. That expansion was best served by working with someone else so we’ve parted ways. Very amicably, but we’re not working together any more. I do miss seeing and talking with the people there. And I do miss the income. But, here’s the really interesting part. Now that I’m not working with them, I’m able to be even more focused on my core business of voiceovers. I loved working with those folks, but I really love telling stories for people. And what I did for them didn’t involve telling stories all that often. It was much more the nuts and bolts of editing, writing and producing.

So, in a strange way, we’ve both gained from this parting of the ways. They’ve been able to expand rapidly and effectively. And I’ve sharpened the focus of my work. I’ve also gained a bunch of time that I’ve needed in order to serve the significant number of new voiceover clients I have. In fact I might well have missed a couple of really significant opportunities in the first quarter of this year if I was still working with them because I wouldn’t have had the time I needed to meet some very tight deadlines. And as a result of being able to take on those opportunities, my income hasn’t fallen since our parting, it’s grown.

Not every story has one, but I do love happy endings.

(edited to fix typo)

When you submit an audition or start working with a new agent or a new client, do you ever think about how one little thing can have huge consequences? Seth Godin mentions today what it was like being in the same room watching someone read his blog for the first time, unbeknowst to the reader. Much of the time we don’t get to pick our first impressions. They happen when and where they do.

Some of them, no doubt, are better than others. We are all human. We’re not perfectly consistent from moment to moment. But thinking about this matter of first impressions (and for that matter second impressions and five thousandth impressions) reminds me how vitally important it is that we keep ourselves in top condition all the time. My voiceover coach Marice Tobias often says “there are no auditions, there are only performances.” Some we get paid for. Some we do in order to get paid.

Keeping this in mind is tough. I find it easy some days to slip into an attitude of “it’s only an audition and not all that important.” Actually it is important. Every time. This is why I keep studying with Marice. It helps keep me on my toes. So, what are you doing to stay sharp?

Are you standing on all three of your legs? Wait, three legs? David Brower explains over at VoiceOverXtra.

My friend Jane Ingalls emails this quote this morning:

“Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.”

               – Brian Adams

From my friend and manager, Stacey Stahl, this morning:

Your idea of how good it can get is just your idea.  There’s more.

       —  Alan Cohen

CBS Sunday Morning featured voiceovers this past weekend.

My thanks to my friend Dan Nachtrab for posting the link to this video on the VO-BB.

Two of my friends inspired this post.

While reading a recent blog post by Rowell Gormon, I realized that one of the things I love best about the way my life is going is that I’m working so much of the time with my family and friends. My oldest son Eric has been working with me doing audio editing and script directing for a couple of years. My oldest child, and only daughter, Karen is also working with me now part-time. She is a superb director who is helping me work through a large audiobook project that, I am sure, I would not be able to complete without her help.

The idea of working with Karen and Eric actually started a few years ago when I needed to be more efficient while working both a corporate day job and a full-time load of voiceover work. My wife, Cinda, started script directing me so that I wouldn’t have so many pick-ups in the long-form narrations that I do. These days I try not to call on Cinda too often. The pace of her life home-schooling our two youngest sons as well as taking care of a myriad of details for our life together means that she has a much more hectic schedule than I ever had. But, it’s always fun when we do work on something together.

Recently, Eric has taken on some work for another voiceover talent. That job then suddenly bloomed into a huge project with some very tight deadlines; so he’s not as available to work with me as he has been in the past. Karen has other work that takes a good bit of her time, too. So, as a result, I’ve reached out beyond just my family. Pam Tierney wrote on her blog about her experience directing me on a large project with some very tight deadlines.

But, working with family and friends extends beyond just those stories because so many of my clients are also people I truly enjoy knowing. Each one is more than a customer. He or she is a client in the fullest sense of the word. I love my work because I truly love the people and the businesses for whom I work. I hope you can say the same.

My friend Rowell Gormon is featured on camera in this video for IBM. Which one is Rowell? He’s the guy who starts and ends the video.

Vox Daily, the blog at Voices.com, is an excellent resource for information about voicever even if you’re not a member of their online casting service. Yesterday, Stephanie posted a list of voiceover people (and coaches) who are using Twitter. A number of additional links are in the comments section. In fact, if you’re on Twitter and you’re not on the list you might want to post a link in the comments yourself.

From my friend and manager Stacey Stahl comes this:

“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”

 

— Thomas Jefferson