How to make a ton of money in voice over. Or anything.
I just finished three books by famed multi millionaire Real Estate agent Gary Keller. Yes, I'm a voice over guy, but I love real estate too. In fact my degree is in Business/Real Estate. One piece of wisdom I've gained in my half century on earth as that if you want above average results in your chosen industry, its extremely helpful to look outside your industry. Two of the books I read are specifically about real estate - The Millionaire Real Estate Agent and The Millionaire Real Estate Investor and the third was less specific - The One Thing.
As I listened to all of them, I thought a lot more about Voice Over than real estate! "How can I apply this to my voice over business?"
Here are a few things I learned or was reminded of:
Many of us have heard of the 80/20 rule. It was originally discovered in 1906 by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who determined that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. It is also true in business that about 80% of your results come from about 20% of your efforts. Want bigger results? Figure out what that 20% is and do more of that! Bill Dewees, successful voice actor, marketing genius and voice over coach talks about this in his training.
In real estate, you are virtually guaranteed to be successful if you spend 4 hours a day, 5 days a week marketing and prospecting. In voice over, assuming you have the training, a decent recording studio and a place on the web for people to find you, I have no doubt that the same thing is true.
The trick is to ACTIVELY and CONSISTENTLY let the world know you exist! And you can't give up after a week or a month or even a year. If you have the luxury of being able to dedicate full time to your voice over career, MOST of your time should be spent marketing and prospecting when you start out! You could be rocking the greatest pipes on earth into your Neumann U87 being fed into your Avalon 737 in your custom VO booth after having been trained by the greatest coaches on earth (Nancy, Marice and David) - but if no one knows you exist, you ain't gonna book a thing!
In fact, you should never stop marketing yourself. Gary Keller says you can NEVER have too many leads. You may think, "sure, for real estate thats's true, but there are only so many hours in a day I can sit in a dark room and talk to myself". Well, that's true, but there's a great way to deal with "too much work". First of all, LEVERAGE yourself. Once you get to that point where you've got SO much money and SO much work, figure out what the best use of your time is. I'm guessing its not invoicing, maintaining your website, updating your social networks, and editing your VO work. If you're THAT busy, the best use of your time is talking into that mic! Pay someone $15/an hour to do THAT stuff so you can spend your time making your $500/hour.
Secondly, raise your rates! There's a number that will give you that perfect balance.
But I digress. More on how to get to "too much work". In The One Thing, Keller convinces the reader to focus on One Thing. Find that driving force in your life that makes you want to get up and take on the world. It may be voice over. And it this point in your career it may be marketing and prospecting.
Once you find your passion and your purpose, focus on it. Literally block out 4 hours per day 5 days per week in your calendar to do that one thing. Make that time sacred. Don't skip. Don't allow interruptions. Learn to say "no" when someone needs you for something during that time. Remember, when you say "yes" to something, you're saying "no" to everything else!
But how do you market your voice to the world?
Ahhhh. That's a topic for another day.
In the meantime, check out Keller's books. You won't regret it.
As I listened to all of them, I thought a lot more about Voice Over than real estate! "How can I apply this to my voice over business?"
Here are a few things I learned or was reminded of:
Many of us have heard of the 80/20 rule. It was originally discovered in 1906 by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who determined that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. It is also true in business that about 80% of your results come from about 20% of your efforts. Want bigger results? Figure out what that 20% is and do more of that! Bill Dewees, successful voice actor, marketing genius and voice over coach talks about this in his training.
In real estate, you are virtually guaranteed to be successful if you spend 4 hours a day, 5 days a week marketing and prospecting. In voice over, assuming you have the training, a decent recording studio and a place on the web for people to find you, I have no doubt that the same thing is true.
The trick is to ACTIVELY and CONSISTENTLY let the world know you exist! And you can't give up after a week or a month or even a year. If you have the luxury of being able to dedicate full time to your voice over career, MOST of your time should be spent marketing and prospecting when you start out! You could be rocking the greatest pipes on earth into your Neumann U87 being fed into your Avalon 737 in your custom VO booth after having been trained by the greatest coaches on earth (Nancy, Marice and David) - but if no one knows you exist, you ain't gonna book a thing!
In fact, you should never stop marketing yourself. Gary Keller says you can NEVER have too many leads. You may think, "sure, for real estate thats's true, but there are only so many hours in a day I can sit in a dark room and talk to myself". Well, that's true, but there's a great way to deal with "too much work". First of all, LEVERAGE yourself. Once you get to that point where you've got SO much money and SO much work, figure out what the best use of your time is. I'm guessing its not invoicing, maintaining your website, updating your social networks, and editing your VO work. If you're THAT busy, the best use of your time is talking into that mic! Pay someone $15/an hour to do THAT stuff so you can spend your time making your $500/hour.
Secondly, raise your rates! There's a number that will give you that perfect balance.
But I digress. More on how to get to "too much work". In The One Thing, Keller convinces the reader to focus on One Thing. Find that driving force in your life that makes you want to get up and take on the world. It may be voice over. And it this point in your career it may be marketing and prospecting.
Once you find your passion and your purpose, focus on it. Literally block out 4 hours per day 5 days per week in your calendar to do that one thing. Make that time sacred. Don't skip. Don't allow interruptions. Learn to say "no" when someone needs you for something during that time. Remember, when you say "yes" to something, you're saying "no" to everything else!
But how do you market your voice to the world?
Ahhhh. That's a topic for another day.
In the meantime, check out Keller's books. You won't regret it.
Goals? Do they work? Take 63 • Epispde 4
Puppies, the gym and voiceover OH MY!
Are you a goal person? Do you set resolutions at the start of each year, only to be setting the same ones next year?
Is there a single "key" to success in voiceover? In any business or endeavor?
What's helped me the most as I've tried to improve?
Find out in episode 4 of Take 63!
Are you a goal person? Do you set resolutions at the start of each year, only to be setting the same ones next year?
Is there a single "key" to success in voiceover? In any business or endeavor?
What's helped me the most as I've tried to improve?
Find out in episode 4 of Take 63!
My New Girlfriend! Gasp!
As I was packing the garage to move a couple months ago, I found a list of goals from 1998. One of my goals was to have a Frisbee dog. All three of the dogs we've had since then have been rescues, with their built in issues. They've been awesome, and we've loved them to death, but I haven't been able to turn any of them into frisbee dogs. Speaking of death, we lost one (Toni) last year and another (Riley) this year. Toni lived to nearly 16, and Riley to 14. Nothing can replace them. My daughter Kalin was crying, missing Toni, just yesterday. : (
Jonesie - my wife's dog -is our most recent rescue and we're working hard with him to help him get over the insecurity and aggression issues he came with. He's in obedience classes right now, and he's come a long way.
I'll be 50 next year. Mid life crisis time, right? A little anxious, and in need of something exciting, something new, something different. OK, I'd really like a 2013 BMW M5, but that like $100 grand. I'd love a 6 month hiatus to Italy, but that's not practical just yet.
So what to do... Well, I've been obsessing about Border Collies for some time now. And it was time. I ultimately found my dream dog - a purebred female Border Collie with high toy drive - from Heather Hutchings of Power House Border Collies.
My new baby's name is Saphira Marie. Saphira after the dragon in the Eragon book series (not the movie, the movie sucked) and Marie is my daughter Kalin's middle name.
She is literally the most beautiful dog I've ever seen. Sure, I'm slightly biased, since I'm in love and all, but if you can find a better looking dog, send me a picture! And she is freaking perfect - fun, playful, affectionate, afraid of nothing - human or animal, and has an off switch so she can be mellow.
She goes with me everywhere I can take her, and some places I can't. She's eaten at lots of restaurants - they just give her a pass since she's so freaking adorable.
Oh, and she's already great at fetching a Frisbee!
Here are some pics my awesome photographer wife Leila took of us tonight:
Jonesie - my wife's dog -is our most recent rescue and we're working hard with him to help him get over the insecurity and aggression issues he came with. He's in obedience classes right now, and he's come a long way.
I'll be 50 next year. Mid life crisis time, right? A little anxious, and in need of something exciting, something new, something different. OK, I'd really like a 2013 BMW M5, but that like $100 grand. I'd love a 6 month hiatus to Italy, but that's not practical just yet.
So what to do... Well, I've been obsessing about Border Collies for some time now. And it was time. I ultimately found my dream dog - a purebred female Border Collie with high toy drive - from Heather Hutchings of Power House Border Collies.
My new baby's name is Saphira Marie. Saphira after the dragon in the Eragon book series (not the movie, the movie sucked) and Marie is my daughter Kalin's middle name.
She is literally the most beautiful dog I've ever seen. Sure, I'm slightly biased, since I'm in love and all, but if you can find a better looking dog, send me a picture! And she is freaking perfect - fun, playful, affectionate, afraid of nothing - human or animal, and has an off switch so she can be mellow.
She goes with me everywhere I can take her, and some places I can't. She's eaten at lots of restaurants - they just give her a pass since she's so freaking adorable.
Oh, and she's already great at fetching a Frisbee!
Here are some pics my awesome photographer wife Leila took of us tonight:
 |
| True Love |
 |
| Yes, her eyes really are that blue. |
 |
| Vocal warm ups |
Portable Voice Over Studio - VO on the Road
Every once in awhile, I'm able to escape. I mean, full on escape. Just leave town, alone. At this stage of my life, a solo 7 hour road trip is really a lot of fun.
I recently took such a trip from my home in California to meet up with my brothers, one of my sons and my nephew for a guy vacation. We met in St. George, Utah for some amazing mountain biking.
Along with my mountain bike, luggage and a crate for my new Border Collie to be picked up on the rebound, I also brought my portable voice over studio. My travel studio consists of an iPad, Twisted Wave, and an Apogee Mic.
But come on, its vacation, do I really want to WORK on vacation? Well, sort of. I actually love doing voice over. And while I don't go out of my way to audition on vacation, if I client needs something right away, I want to be able to provide it...
Sure enough, after I left the house, a client emailed and needed a script read. So I drove up I 15 and found an offramp to nowhere. I pulled down a dirt road, where the only noise I could hear came from the shrieking cactus. I whipped out my studio, put a towel over my head, recorded, edited and sent.
If you're serious about voice over, a portable rig isn't a bad idea.
Trevor
http://www.trevorjonesvo.com
I recently took such a trip from my home in California to meet up with my brothers, one of my sons and my nephew for a guy vacation. We met in St. George, Utah for some amazing mountain biking.
Along with my mountain bike, luggage and a crate for my new Border Collie to be picked up on the rebound, I also brought my portable voice over studio. My travel studio consists of an iPad, Twisted Wave, and an Apogee Mic.
But come on, its vacation, do I really want to WORK on vacation? Well, sort of. I actually love doing voice over. And while I don't go out of my way to audition on vacation, if I client needs something right away, I want to be able to provide it...
Sure enough, after I left the house, a client emailed and needed a script read. So I drove up I 15 and found an offramp to nowhere. I pulled down a dirt road, where the only noise I could hear came from the shrieking cactus. I whipped out my studio, put a towel over my head, recorded, edited and sent.
If you're serious about voice over, a portable rig isn't a bad idea.
Trevor
http://www.trevorjonesvo.com
Trevor Jones and The 2012 Olympics
I sometimes think "Dang, I'm too old to be competitive in any sport now". Ok, I was never really into sports, other than lifting, motocross, martial arts and marathoning, but still... So the odds of me making an appearance in the Olympics were, well, zilch.
Until now...
Airing during the 2012 Olympics is...
MY VOICE!
...for several spots I did for Wreck it Ralph.
Oh look, here's one now:
Email me here: trevor@trevorjonesvo.com
http://www.trevorjonesvo.com
Until now...
Airing during the 2012 Olympics is...
MY VOICE!
...for several spots I did for Wreck it Ralph.
Oh look, here's one now:
Email me here: trevor@trevorjonesvo.com
http://www.trevorjonesvo.com
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