How To Do Voiceover ‘Part-Time’

How much time does it take to establish your voiceover career? How much time and attention does it take to establish and maintain any small business?

If you honestly dedicate at least 25 to 30 hours a week, what would be considered part-time for any other business, for at least a year it’s more than likely you’ll create the voiceover career you’ve longed for—provided you have realistic expectations and, just as importantly, wisely allocate your time.

Here’s what I suggest:

• Commit no less than an hour to training such as SOUND ADVICE Vocal Warm Up, five days a week. It may take you 2 to 3 weeks to incorporate it into your weekly routine, but without it your vocal precision and stamina won’t be as reliable as they should be. This is necessary of every experience level; it never goes away. In fact, more is expected of you if you’re “seasoned”. Your mettle will be tested at a moment’s notice more often than not. It’s imperative you’re up to professional demands. Chances are your confidence will increase as well as this key component becomes second nature.
• Dedicate 10 to 15 hours a week toward training and study. This should include variations on the following: in-studio coaching, listening back to your coaching sessions offers a deeper comprehension of the techniques and concepts you’re attempting to master, reading credible references and resources, listening to industry related podcasts, and generally keeping up on advancements in the industry.
• Spend a few random hours setting up, maintaining or tweaking your home recording set up to insure your auditions are “road-worthy”. It’s necessary you’re able to record, edit and convert your auditions into MP3s from home or on the road. As long as you have a quiet location, secure Internet access, and a reliable computer to record on, you’ll be able to secure agents from a variety regions, not just locally, and deliver quick, quality auditions. Auditions are a key form of your promotion. They just shouldn’t be your only form of promotion if you hope to have a thriving career.
• Devote approximately 10 to 20 hours a week toward marketing and promotion. This includes auditioning, creating your logo, establishing your voiceover only web page, promoting yourself to talent agents (until you’re auditioning regularly and you’re happy with the amount and caliber of the jobs), and you’re making your name known and yourself available and more familiar to your voiceover demos’ primary target audience.

Needless to say, there’s always have work to done when you have a small business. Maintaining no less than 25 to 30 hours a week for the first year you set out to establish or elevate your career will only help insure you have a career at all.