08/29/2024
I'm a firm believer that wherever you want to go in life, you already have what you need right now to take the next step.
Some of you know that I've been quietly (somewhat quietly) dabbling in professional voice-over work the past few months. At first, it was to make a little extra income, then it was to see if I could scale it up and do it full-time.
I'm not quite at the full-time level of it yet, but it is scaling up, AND I've already had repeat customers!
It came about as my attempt at hosting a 2-day leadership training workshop back in April flopped with absolutely no one signing up to attend. A friend worked through my business plan with me and we discovered I was missing something called a "client acquisition funnel (?)". LOL!
Well, I did my homework, mapped out my client acquisition funnel for that business, and then I began thinking about what it'll be like when I get that first client. That's when I realized...I didn't want that type of client and I didn't want to do that kind of work.
I shared this with Olivia, and she was fully supportive while also asking a very practical question, "What do you want to do then?"
There was some serious thought that went into BtR Impact's leadership development focus, Beyond the Rut podcast, and both would require a LOT of work and time to create something sustainable. I needed something sooner.
That's when I realized that I'd been in podcasting since January 2014. I already own microphones, recording equipment and software, and have a home studio. What if...someone would pay me to read their stuff out loud?
I went to dust off my old Upwork account, but it was deactivated...so I started a new one. Haha! I bought some Connections (credits) then focused on getting my first voiceover gig, then I got one, and another, then another.
YouTube provided me a few free mentors where I learned some tricks and tips to marketing myself, production, etc.
That knowledge improved my pitch emails on Upwork, and then I expanded into platforms like Fiverr and ACX to get more clients. Read a couple of books as well on how to get into the industry and actually be successful. With my public library card, I got access to audiobooks for free where I would listen to different narration styles, began listening to a podcast "Levar Burton Reads" because his voice is butter, and started transitioning my podcasting voice into a storytelling one.
What's really been cool in this experience is that (1) people actually understand what I do for a living when I tell them I'm getting into voiceover narration, and (2) seeing some of that work turn into something a little viral like the image below.
Again, I'm not earning full-time income from this yet, but I will say that it's more like part-time income where about 1.5 weeks of the month has been earned in August (more than triple what I earned in July and quadruple what I earned in June!)
I already had the skills, equipment, and access I needed to take my first step in the world of voice narration/acting. More importantly, I took that first step.
What's the next step you want to take and what do you have already, right now, to make that first step happen?
PS...I'll put the link for the Ryan Reynolds story in the comments for you.
