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Desperation

You know what sucks? A slow day.

You know what sucks worse? A slow week!

You know what sucks the most? A slow season!

I don’t care if you’ve been doing voice over for ten days, ten months or ten years, you’re going to experience all of the above. It’s the nature of the business. Some days, weeks, and seasons are naturally busier than others.

Dry Spells

When the slow times hit it’s really easy to panic. I’ve been doing voice over work for a very long time, and when I go through a slow period, I still start to sweat sometimes. I mean, this is my income! It’s how I support myself. Pay my rent. Buy Dr Pepper!

When I talk to voice actors who are looking for advice, one of the common themes I find among those in dry-spells is a sense of desperation.

I get it. Believe me… I get it!

My first year doing VO full time I made something like $13,000. I had plenty of desperate days!!

What I learned along the way, though, is the desperation… it’s really bad. It gets in your head. It affects your confidence. In turn, it comes through in everything you do.

Desperation

desperate-timesDesperation seeps into your voice in your auditions.

It changes the tone and language of your marketing.

It affects how you interact with clients.

Desperation chips away at your perceived value.

It’s a subtle thing. One you may not even realize. Take it from someone who’s been there, done that. What I’m telling you, it’s true.

Desperation will hurt your business.

Push Forward

What do you do, then? How do you push through the dry-spells? How do you keep your confidence high? How do you fight the desperation when the gigs aren’t coming and the bank account is getting low?

You treat every audition like you’ve already booked it.

You treat every prospect like they’re already a client.

You market yourself like a pro.

You value yourself like a pro.

You remember that, heck yeah I’m good enough!

And seasons change!

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