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Since there are only a precious few weeks left in 2018, setting your 2019 goals should be on the brain and we’ll talk about that in just a moment. But first, a quick programming note… Since I built my shiny new VO Strategist website a few months ago, many of you signed up for this blog and/or the VO Strategist newsletter but never got them so my apologies for that. I went through the database and manually added everyone that I think wanted to subscribe to this here blog. If I erred and you didn’t sign up for it, my apologies and feel free to unsubscribe. You could also give this blog entry a read and be soooo amazeballed by it that you’ll stick around. I guess this had better be good, then. (cracks knuckles and starts typing furiously…) 2019 is just around the corner and I’d like to think that many of you are in self-reflection mode, or at least you will be during that seemingly-endless week that bridges Christmas and New Year’s Day. Let’s make good use of the time, shall we? Here are a few basic questions ala Dan Duckworth of Voiceovers Unlimited to get your 2018 analytics hat on: Did you achieve your Cash Flow goals? Did you make as much, spend as little, and save as much as you’d hoped to? Did you achieve your Tools goals? Did you get or upgrade all the stuff you need to run your voiceover business effectively? Did you achieve your Technique goals? Did you improve your skills as an auditioner, performer, and master of your desired genres? Did you achieve your Marketing goals? Did you create or strengthen your brand, effectively use social media (and not just post duck-faced selfies or humble-brag), and improve your relationships with people in the voiceover industry? Did you achieve your Health goals? Are you at your desired weight and have created or improved effective Systems of Thought and Systems of Execution? TIP OF THE WEEK After looking at those questions, how did you do? Did you feel proud of yourself or about to cry into your pillow? Never fear! The nice thing about a new calendar year is that it’s a chance to mentally & emotionally reset, so take advantage of that. Let’s look at those analytics questions and turn them into setting your 2019 goals… In 2019, to improve my Cash Flow I will: make X, spend X, and save X In 2019, to improve my Tools I will: get and/or upgrade X In 2019, to improve my Technique Flow I will: improve my skills as an auditioner, performer, and master my desired genres by doing X In 2019, to improve my Marketing I will: create or strengthen my brand, effectively use social media, and improve my relationships with people in the voiceover industry by doing X In 2019, to improve my Health I will: lose X pounds and improve my Systems of Thought and Systems of Execution by doing X Obviously you don’t have to you use exactly these categories or verbiage to help you with setting your 2019 goals, but you get the idea. If you need more help, I’m here for you. Feel free to schedule a free 15-minute consult at www.vostrategist.com/book-me or take my Goals class this week. Details below… NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, December 13th @8PM EST: My next Business and Money 201 webinar will be “Goals”. We’ll talk about how to effectively set your sights on 2019. Saturday December 15th: the ACA Deadline is coming fast! Click here to get more information. A few years ago, the marvelous Xe Sands put together a holiday project called “From The Heart”, a compilation of 60 audio book narrators lending their voice to some short stories celebrating the holiday season. I was one of those honored narrators and below is my contribution, “Comfort and Joy” written by Judith Arnold. HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Have a Bagel Day and Write a Business Plan Month! How is your business plan for 2019 coming along? QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also voiceover business consultant known as the VO Strategist and is currently producing the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

Photo by twicepix In last week’s Tip of the Week, my first bit of advice regarded respect. To narcissistic-ally quote myself… The most important factor in a relationship is respect. I talked about it in this blog from a while back. Respect your clients, respect your partner, and respect yourself. Respect them the way you would want to be respected. I left out two important things. Respect the voiceover industry in general and your fellow voice talents in particular. I bring this up because just a few days ago there was an (ahem) interesting exchange on a voiceover-related Facebook group. Man, if it wasn’t for people shooting their mouths off in Facebook groups I’d have nothing to talk about. Anyway, someone asked about adding music & sound to voiceover demos and offered a distressingly low rate to anyone who could provide them. Another member of the group (a highly respected sound engineer) suggested they use a professional demo producer and sound engineer to make the demo properly. Since I’m not at liberty to directly quote the exchange, trust me when I say it didn’t go well. The person in question was rude & dismissive to both the engineer and one of my students who advocated investing in a professional coach & sound engineer to produce a competitive demo. The person in question also bragged about awards won and how often they do voiceovers “on the cheap” or for free. Hoo, boy. The lack of respect demonstrated here represents everything that is wrong with the voiceover industry today. It represents the shabby, bottom-feeding, course behavior perpetrated by some voice talent and voice seekers. This has no place in our industry and I will not stand for it. Neither should you! TIP OF THE WEEK Let this be a lesson on how NOT to comport yourself. Here are three ways to respect the voiceover industry, it’s people, and yourself: Invest in a competitive demo produced by an experienced professional. Making a demo from scratch without coaching or a sound engineer will not serve you. Don’t do it “on the cheap” or you will be just another starving artist clogging voice seekers’ inboxes and wasting everyone’s time. BE PATIENT. Invest in your training and demo production properly, even if it takes longer than you want it to. You will thank yourself in the long run. Don’t do voiceovers for free or on the cheap. I’ve talked about this extensively in a previous blog entry. It is not something to be proud of. The practice damages our industry in a myriad of ways. It devalues and commoditizes voice talent which makes it harder for everyone to get paid a rate that is commensurate with the industry standard. KNOW YOUR VALUE and stop selling out the rest of us. Don’t be a jerk on social media. The voiceover industry is a small world filled with kind souls who talk to each other regularly. We as a community have no tolerance for condescension, self-aggrandizement, and petty jabs. I don’t care how many awards you have won or national gigs you have landed. It does not relieve you of the responsibility of having manners. BE KIND. Kindness will always serve you better than derision ever will. NEWS AND NOTES Wednesday, February 20th @8PM EST: my next Edge Studio Marketing 201 webinar will be “4 Words That Will Kill Your Marketing”. We’ll talk about how think like an effective marketer. Click here to sign up. SAVE THE DATE Tuesday, February 26th @9PM EST: I will be leading a “Managing Your Money” webinar hosted by the wonderful Julie Williams. Details to come…! Sunday, March 3rd @10AM EST: I am honored to be one of the guest speakers at the NY Audiobook Business Workshop hosted by Scott Brick and Johnny Heller. I’ll be leading a discussion on how to file your taxes as a voice talent. SAVE THE DATE Sunday, March 24th @1:30 PM EST: I will be leading a “Managing Your Money” workshop at Arts On Site hosted by the Voice Actors of NYC Facebook Group. We’ll talk about all things financial as a voiceover business and tips about filing your taxes in 2019. I will post the link when tickets are available. FYI the VANYC donation-based events sell out FAST so when tickets go on sale, don’t dawdle! March 29-31, 2019: VO Atlanta 2019! My Breakout Session will be “The Sales Funnel” and my X-Session will be “Managing Your Money”. There are still a few X-Session seats left so sign up today! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Peppermint Patty Day and World Marriage Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

What does success look like for you as a voice talent? Photo by Got Credit I ask because as the VO Strategist I’ve been doing a lot of free 15-minute consults (click here to get yours) and the subject has come up quite a bit. Voice talents of all experience levels have been asking me to help them build a foundation, help with their marketing, get them to the next level, etc. When I ask them what success looks like for their voiceover business, I’ve noticed that it breaks down into one of four categories: Hobby – they’re content to do voiceovers here and here. It’s often a college student, a film/TV/theatre actor looking to supplement their income, someone with a full-time job wanting to save up for that Disney vacation, or a retiree looking either for extra money or it brings them joy. Part-Time – often they want to do voiceovers on nights & weekends or they want to downshift from a full-time job to a part-time job as they transition to doing voiceovers full-time. Full-Time – let’s not kid anybody, there are literally thousands of people who want to do voiceovers full-time. They may be college grads, TV/theatre/film actors who are sick of the rat race, DJ’s who are having trouble finding work in the ever-shrinking world of radio, people who got laid-off or fired, retirees, or people who love cartoons & videos games. Lifestyle – these are folks who are ready to pack their bags and move to NYC or LA and immerse themselves in a boots-on-the-ground voiceover career striving to book agent-driven commercial, animation, or video game auditions. All of these definitions of success in voiceovers is totally valid. Everyone’s life and financial situation as well as their individual ambitions are different and should be respected as long as they respect the voiceover industry and themselves (see my blog entry from last week). TIP OF THE WEEK How can you determine what success looks like for you in the voiceover industry? Finances: how much money do you want to make, spend, and save in 2019? The more specific, realistic financial goals you set, the better your chances of being successful. Genre: which genres do you want to train in, produce a demo, market, and build a strong revenue stream? Do those genres require an agent to get high-end auditions? Do you need to join SAG-AFTRA? Some genres require representation and union membership, others do not. Logistics: do you want to do voiceovers as a hobby, part-time, full-time, or as a lifestyle? What are you willing to do to make it happen? Are you willing to move? Do you want to record from home, record at a remote studio, or some of both? Regardless of how you define success in the voiceover industry; be professional, charge industry-standard rates, and be a good human. NEWS AND NOTES Wednesday, February 20th @8PM EST: my next Marketing 201 webinar will be “4 Words That Will Kill Your Marketing”. We’ll talk about how think like an effective marketer. Tuesday, February 26th @9PM EST: I will be leading a “Manage Your Money & Taxes Like a VO Pro” webinar hosted by the wonderful Julie Williams. We’ll talk about the basics of incorporating your voiceover business (and whether you should or shouldn’t), how to file your taxes as a voice talent, and what you can & can’t write off. Click here to sign up. Sunday, March 3rd @10AM EST: I am honored to be one of the guest speakers at the NY Audiobook Business Workshop hosted by Scott Brick and Johnny Heller. I’ll be leading a discussion on how to file your taxes as a voice talent. Learn more here. SAVE THE DATE Sunday, March 24th @1:30 PM EST: I will be leading a “Managing Your Money” workshop at Arts On Site hosted by the Voice Actors of NYC Facebook Group. We’ll talk about all things financial as a voiceover business and tips about filing your taxes in 2019. I will post the link when tickets are available. FYI the VANYC donation-based events sell out FAST so when tickets go on sale, don’t dawdle! March 29-31, 2019: VO Atlanta 2019! My Breakout Session will be “The Sales Funnel” and my X-Session will be “Managing Your Money”. There are still a few X-Session seats left so sign up today! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Pluto Day and Chocolate Mint Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK One disease, long life. No disease, short life. Chinese Proverb Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

The 2019 tax season is here so it’s time to pay your taxes. Or hopefully get a refund. 🙂 Last year a I wrote a two-part blog about the new tax code. You can read them here and here. I got my taxes done last week and I got clobbered. Why? My income went up by about 10% and I didn’t adjust my Federal quarterly estimated tax payments. Duh. Since my income went up, my Earned Income Tax Credit went down. After you deduct all of your business expenses, your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) may be low enough to qualify. I moved from New Jersey to New York. That means I pay a higher tax rate and I have to pay a city tax on top of that. As a result of moving, my office space shrunk and your rent/mortgage deduction is based on square footage. I paid my NJ quarterly estimated taxes but not NY. Double duh. I didn’t realize how much higher NY taxes are. I will not make that mistake again! As to the new tax code, it looks like the 20% business deduction applies to your Net Profit, not your Gross Revenue. On top of that it won’t necessarily be 20%, it could be up to 20%. The issue for some voice talent is that we have a lot of business expenses which eats into our Net Profit. TIP OF THE WEEK Some of my tax woes were preventable, some were not. Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind: (for you 1099’ers) If you’re making more money this year than last year, raise your Quarterly Estimated Tax payments both state and federal. If you’re not sure how much, contact your CPA. You do have a CPA, don’t you? (for you W2’ers) Adjust your withholding! One of the traps of the new tax code is that if you didn’t increase your withholding, you may have to pay more in taxes when it comes time to file. If you are incorporated, see if it’s possibly hindering you. Not everyone needs to be incorporated and some types give you more of a benefit than others depending on the state you live in and your financial situation. Track your expenses as you go along and keep good records. The more you can write off, the less taxes you may have to pay. NEWS AND NOTES You have FIVE chances to attend my money-centric workshops! Well, three and-a-half… TONIGHT!!! Tuesday, February 26th @9PM EST: I will be leading a “Manage Your Money & Taxes Like a VO Pro” webinar hosted by the wonderful Julie Williams. We’ll talk about the basics of incorporating your voiceover business (and whether you should or shouldn’t), how to file your taxes as a voice talent, and what you can & can’t write off. SOLD OUT! Sunday, March 3rd @10AM EST: I am honored to be one of the guest speakers at the NY Audiobook Business Workshop hosted by Scott Brick and Johnny Heller. I’ll be leading a discussion on how to file your taxes as a voice talent. Thursday, March 7th @8PM EST: My next Marketing 201 webinar will be “What Your Website Says About You”. We’ll talk about how to objectively critique your website and make it a more effective marketing tool. Sign up here. Thursday, March 21st @8PM EST: My next Business & Money 201 webinar will be “Tax Time!” Take a wild guess what we’re gonna talk about. 😉 Sign up here. Sunday, March 24th @2:00 PM EST: I will be leading a “Manage Your Money Like a VO Pro” workshop at Arts On Site hosted by the Voice Actors of NYC Facebook Group. We’ll talk about all things financial as a voiceover business and tips about filing your taxes in 2019. FYI these VANYC donation-based events sell out FAST! ONLY 7 SEATS LEFT! March 29-31, 2019: VO Atlanta 2019! My Breakout Session will be “The Sales Funnel” and my X-Session will be “Managing Your Money”. There are still a few X-Session seats left so sign up today! EARLY BIRD SPECIAL! Thursday, May 30th 9AM-3PM EST. “The VO Tech Deep Dive and eLearning Extravaganza!” This all-day workshop will consist of two classes: in the morning Amanda Rose Smith will dive deep into audio engineering (from studio creation to mastering files) and in the afternoon I will run an intensive “Learning to do eLearning” seminar covering everything you need to know about the world of eLearning and Corporate narration (which includes live coaching). The Early Bird rate of $99 per class or $179 for both classes ends April 1st and are limited to a precious few seats. HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Tortilla Chip Day and Tell a Fairy Tale Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

As voice talents, many of us are obsessed with our social media status. Some more than others, like myself. 😉 As a community, we’re pretty terrible at it. See this blog entry from a while back to see what I mean. On top of that, almost every week I see at least one voice talent crash & burn online like the gentleman from a few weeks ago. I bring this up because a few days ago I got a casting notice that asked for our number of social followers. Not long after that, the subject of social media followers as a factor in castability came up in a Facebook Group thread. I guess I wasn’t the only one who found the inquiry a tad peculiar. Over the years I’ve heard that vetting an on-camera actor’s social media status is not uncommon, especially on the West Coast. While I appreciate the power of having or capitalizing on a strong social media presence, this is a lot of nonsense. Nobody gives a crap about who is voicing any given spot except for the people who are producing the spot and the person who got cast. If you are a voice seeker and you want your ad to go “viral” or whatever, either hire a celebrity or, here’s an idea! Make sure your ad doesn’t suck! Do a really good job producing it and cast an effective storyteller, not someone who may or may not be investing in click-farming. TIP OF THE WEEK Voice talents are a bunch of narcissistic masochists. The trick is try to keep it under control and make informed, objective decisions when it comes to our social media status. Focus less on quantity of followers and more on quality of followers. On how many fingers can you count the number of actual voice seekers who follow you? Seek out voice seekers online, connect with them, engage them (without being a stalker-y weirdo) and put good content in front of them. Ensure your social media content has a freaking point. Your content should be about 80% engagement, 20% promotion and be an extension of your branding platform. You do have a well-thought out brand, don’t you? STOP. BRAGGING. Nobody cares which voiceover you’ve just done. They may care if it’s for a product or service that is fun, inspiring, helpful, or a good cause. If it’s a milestone like your first or 100th gig, awesome! You should totally celebrate your victories & milestones. If it’s for a HUGE client that’s a household name, fine. Otherwise, keep it to yourself. If you really want to improve your social media status in an organic, effective manner: invest in social media courses, do your research, develop your brand, and get out of your own way. BONUS TIP OF THE WEEK The next time you get a casting notice and the voice seeker asks about your social media status, tell them the following: They are not looking for a voice talent to narrate their spot, they are looking for an Influencer to endorse their product/service. If you are an Influencer, you will charge them more because they should pay that much more for your reach. NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, March 7th @8PM EST: My next Marketing 201 webinar will be “What Your Website Says About You”. We’ll talk about how to critique your website and make it a more effective marketing tool. Thursday, March 21st @8PM EST: My next Business & Money 201 webinar will be “Tax Time!” Take a wild guess what we’re gonna talk about. Sunday, March 24th @2:00 PM EST: I will be leading a “Manage Your Money Like a VO Pro” workshop at Arts On Site hosted by the Voice Actors of NYC Facebook Group. We’ll talk about all things financial as a voiceover business and tips about filing your taxes in 2019. FYI these VANYC donation-based events sell out FAST! ONLY A FEW SEATS LEFT! March 29-31, 2019: VO Atlanta 2019! My Breakout Session will be “The Sales Funnel” and my X-Session will be “Managing Your Money”. There are still a few X-Session seats left so sign up today! EARLY BIRD SPECIAL! Thursday, May 30th 9AM-3PM EST. “The VO Tech Deep Dive and eLearning Extravaganza!” This all-day workshop will consist of two classes: in the morning Amanda Rose Smith will dive deep into audio engineering (from studio creation to mastering files) and in the afternoon I will run an intensive “Learning to do eLearning” seminar covering everything you need to know about the world of eLearning and Corporate narration (which includes live coaching). The Early Bird rate of $99 per class or $179 for both classes ends April 1st and are limited to a precious few seats. September 13th-15: VOcation NYC! This is a shiny new conference which is all about the business and marketing side of the voiceover industry. Tickets go on sale April 1st. Go to www.vocationconference.com to learn more! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Meatball Day and Small Press Month! As an audio book narrator and a comic book producer, I’m a big fan of Small Press Month. 🙂 QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve stressed the value of having effective Systems of Thought and Systems of Execution. How we think about what we are supposed to be and do is critical to our success as voice talents. I mention this because I’ve noticed a pattern in the questions that aspiring voice talents ask me as well as posts on various social media platforms. As a whole, new voice talents (and some veteran voice talents) think too much about the wrong things. What I mean by “wrong” is stuff that new voice talents think/worry about too much or shouldn’t be thinking about at all. Much of it stems from how we have been raised in an employee-mentality conformist society whose educational system actively squashes individuality, creativity, and most of all, critical thinking. How does this manifest in voiceovers? I took a survey of voice talents I trust and asked them to name one thing your typical voice talent thinks about too much and one thing they don’t think about enough. Here are some of their answers along with a few of my own. Voice Talents Think Too Much About…… And Don’t Think Enough About… Their Recording Equipment Their Recording Environment Their Slate Their Audition The Auditions They’ve Done The Performance In Front Of Them What The Client Wants What We Can Bring To The Performance What Others Are Doing What They Are Doing Making Connections Building Relationships Incorporating Having An Effective Business Plan #of Social Media Connections Developing Their Brand What They Can’t Afford How To Effectively Invest In Themselves And Their Business TIP OF THE WEEK How do you develop effective Systems of Thought? Examine your assumptions. What have you been assuming about yourself, the voiceover industry, and what you need to do, have, and be to be successful? Think of yourself as a business first, then an artist. Get out of your head all the crap you’ve ever seen or heard about what it means to be successful in the entertainment industry and join the 21st Century. Concentrate on the things that will make you an effective business. Focus on your business plan, maximize the effectiveness of the resources you have on hand, train with the best coaches you can afford, and execute consistently! NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, March 21st @8PM EST: My next Business & Money 201 webinar will be “Tax Time!” Take a wild guess what we’re gonna talk about. Sunday, March 24th @2:00 PM EST: I will be leading a “Manage Your Money Like a VO Pro” workshop at Arts On Site hosted by the Voice Actors of NYC Facebook Group. We’ll talk about all things financial as a voiceover business and tips about filing your taxes in 2019. There are still a few seats left! SESSION TOPIC CHANGE!!! March 29-31, 2019: VO Atlanta 2019! My Breakout Session will be “The Sales Funnel” and my X-Session will now be “Managing Your TIME and your Money”. Here is the new session description: Making the transition from hourly employee to a self-employed entrepreneur is a challenge! As a voice talent, you utilize your time and your money much differently than your typical 9-to-5’er. Everything from how you pay your taxes & save for retirement to prioritizing tasks so your day doesn’t spin out of control. In this X-Session, ‘Managing Your Time and Money’, you will discover what it means to be a voiceover business on a financial, logistical, and ergonomic level. We’ll discuss and review: Tips & tricks about building & managing your voiceover business Incorporation, acquiring insurance and focusing on the rights tasks at the right time. It may be the most important voiceover session you’ll ever have! There are still a few X-Session seats left so sign up today. EARLY BIRD SPECIAL! Thursday, May 30th 9AM-3PM EST: “The VO Tech Deep Dive and eLearning Extravaganza!” This all-day workshop will consist of two classes: in the morning Amanda Rose Smith will dive deep into audio engineering (from studio creation to mastering files) and in the afternoon I will run an intensive “Learning to do eLearning” seminar covering everything you need to know about the world of eLearning and Corporate narration (which includes live coaching). The Early Bird rate of $99 per class or $179 for both classes ends April 1st and are limited to a precious few seats. Tickets are on sale now! September 13th-15: VOcation NYC! This is a shiny new conference which is all about the business and marketing side of the voiceover industry. Tickets go on sale April 1st. Go to www.vocationconference.com to learn more! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Coconut Torte Day and Fill Our Staplers Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

Money is the number one concern in every business, but in the voiceover profession I’ve noticed a trend. More and more people seem to be entering the voiceover industry with far less money than they need to effectively start their business. It’s become common for an aspiring voice talent to join a Facebook group, introduce themselves, and state that they want to be a voice talent but have no idea how to start and no money. Why does this happen in the voiceover industry but not in plumbing, mechanics, or medicine? I think it’s a combination of both perception and a lack of understanding of education. It’s perception in that they don’t see a voice talent needing any skills beyond just having a nice voice (which ticks me off no end). It’s education in that you can’t major in voiceovers at college nor is it offered in a vocational school. Regardless, in terms of money it’s critical you understand four things: How much you must make How much you must spend How much you must save How much you must charge If you want my thoughts on how to be profitable as a voice talent, read this blog entry. If you want some Cash Flow tips, read this one. If you want some accounting tips, check out this one. My point is that is you want to start a business, any business, you need capital and an understanding of how to use that capital effectively to become a voice talent. TIP OF THE WEEK In the spirit of shameless self-promotion, if you want to learn more about how money works in the voiceover world, how to mange your insurance, retirement, pay your taxes, etc. I recommend you attend one of my upcoming workshops regarding the subject of money. Oh, and don’t forget that the signup fees are tax deductible. 🙂 If you don’t live in the New York Metropolitan Area: Thursday, March 21st @8PM EST: My next Business & Money 201 webinar will be “Tax Time!” Take a wild guess what we’re gonna talk about. Only $60 for a one-hour session! If you do live in the New York Metropolitan Area: Sunday, March 24th @2:00 PM EST: I will be leading a “Manage Your Money Like a VO Pro” workshop at Arts On Site hosted by the Voice Actors of NYC Facebook Group. We’ll talk about all things financial as a voiceover business and tips about filing your taxes in 2019. This is a donation-based event ($35 suggested donation). There are still a few seats left so sign up right here, right now! NEWS AND NOTES SESSION TOPIC CHANGE!!! March 29-31, 2019: VO Atlanta 2019! My Breakout Session will be “The Sales Funnel” and my X-Session will now be “Managing Your TIME and your Money”. Here is the new session description: Making the transition from hourly employee to a self-employed entrepreneur is a challenge! As a voice talent, you utilize your time and your money much differently than your typical 9-to-5’er. Everything from how you pay your taxes & save for retirement to prioritizing tasks so your day doesn’t spin out of control. In this X-Session, ‘Managing Your Time and Money’, you will discover what it means to be a voiceover business on a financial, logistical, and ergonomic level. We’ll discuss and review: Tips & tricks about building & managing your voiceover business Incorporation, acquiring insurance and focusing on the rights tasks at the right time.It may be the most important voiceover session you’ll ever have! There are still a few X-Session seats left so sign up today. LOCATION ANNOUNCED! Thursday, May 30th 9am-3pm EST: “The VO Tech Deep Dive and eLearning Extravaganza!” 575 8th Ave, 8th Floor NYC. This all-day workshop will consist of two classes: in the morning Amanda Rose Smith will dive deep into audio engineering (from studio creation to mastering files) and in the afternoon I will run an intensive “Learning to do eLearning” seminar covering everything you need to know about the world of eLearning and Corporate narration (which includes live coaching). The Early Bird rate of $99 per class or $179 for both classes ends April 1st and are limited to a precious few seats. HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Ravioli Day and Introverts Week! Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

The State of the Voice Over Industry, 2019 Edition I’ve been writing this blog for over ten years now. For fun, here’s my first entry. Some weeks it’s harder than others to come up with an engaging topic. Just as I was pondering what to write this week, I got a message from a fellow voice talent who asked me this… What has the journey been like? Do you feel that the industry has changed for the better or has become worse since you started VO? And to you, Christian O’Boyle of Seattle I say THANK YOU! Excellent questions, Christian. To examine my journey and the state of the voiceover industry, let’s take a walk down Memory Lane, shall we…? I did my first voiceover in 1996. Here it is on SoundCloud. There were only a handful of voice talent in the US at that time (would it be safe to say a few hundred?). My demo was on a cassette tape. There was no social media or casting sites. You could only book work through agents, analog marketing, or word-of-mouth. There were very few voiceover coaches, much less online training. From 1996 to 2005 I averaged about 15 gigs a year. By then my demos were on CD. I had a janky little website. If you want a good laugh you can check it out here. Pay-to-Play sites were in their infancy and MySpace was all the rage. Voice talents started discovering each other online and a community was slowly building. From 2005 to 2011 (the period when I went full-time but hadn’t turned the corner yet) I averaged about 100 gigs a year. I was on Voice 123, built a home studio, started writing this blog, and struggled to maintain regular clients. Voiceover Universe and VOICE 2007 brought voice talents together. Facebook started percolating and new kids on the block like Twitter and LinkedIn showed up. From 2012 to 2018 I averaged about 350 gigs a year (including coaching gigs), acquired a lengthy list of regular clients, started coaching & demo producing, attended conferences regularly, and now there are tens of thousands of untrained or poorly trained aspiring voice talents out there flooding the industry along with low-balling voice seekers, shady demo producers, and unethical Pay-to-Play sites. There are also a lot of great talent, producers, agents, and coaches out there who continually strive to uplift the voice industry. With all that in mind, what is The State of the Voiceover Industry in 2019? I’m not sure if it’s better or worse than when I started my journey, but it certainly is different. It’s better because there is more work than ever, more opportunities to be successful than ever, and there is an amazing community of selfless, caring voice talents and voice seekers who do what they can to help everyone succeed. It’s worse because there are too many people trying to do voiceovers on the cheap, social media groups have become flaming cesspools, and rates have dropped like a stone. TIP OF THE WEEK If you are new to the voiceover industry; be grateful that the Internet, social media, casting sites, and the relatively low cost of building home studios, producing demos, marketing, and quality coaching gives you a better chance than ever to be a successful voiceover business. BUT, don’t be just another dreamy-eyed knucklehead trying to do it on the cheap. Invest in your voiceover business wisely just like anyone else would invest in any other kind of startup. If you’re a veteran who remembers reel-to-reel demos, don’t lament the current industry and wish for the “good old days” because it’s never, ever going to be the way it was. Keep up with industry trends, brush up your marketing skills, and take a class or two. Adapt or die, as they say. NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, April 11th @8PM EST: Business and Money 201 webinar, ‘Workflow’. Learn how to manage your office, inbox, and Systems of Thought. Thursday, April 25th @8PM EST: Marketing 201 webinar, ‘Keeping Clients Coming Back’. I’ll tell you the REAL secret to client retention. Thursday, May 30th 9am-3pm EST: “The VO Tech Deep Dive and eLearning Extravaganza!” 338 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, 10031. This all-day workshop will consist of two classes: in the morning Amanda Rose Smith will dive deep into audio engineering (from studio creation to mastering files) and in the afternoon I will run an intensive “Learning to do eLearning” seminar covering everything you need to know about the world of eLearning and Corporate narration (which includes live coaching). September 13th-15: VOcation NYC! This is a shiny new conference which is all about the business and marketing side of the voiceover industry. There is an incredible lineup of presenters who specialize in the marketing and business side of the voiceover industry, including keynote speaker J. Michael Collins. HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day and No Housework Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK You can live without Chaucer and you can live without calculus, but you canoot make it in the wide, wide world without common sence. Janet Hill, Grant Hill's mother Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

I’ve been engaging in a very specific form of laziness lately. The metric tonnage of questions asked daily on social media by voice talents of all experience levels could stun a team of oxen. I try to answer as many questions as I can when I have time. I’ve been finding myself having less time to answer them and noticing the same questions are asked over and over and over. It’s both tedious and time-consuming to come up with original answers every time. A few months ago, I came up with what I thought was a clever solution… Since I’ve blogging about voiceovers for 10+ years, I’ve covered most subjects that are brought up. So now, when an aspiring voice talent posts a question like, “How do I get an agent?” instead of spending anywhere from 5-30 minutes crafting a thoughtful answer, instead I just post a link to a blog entry where I have already articulated my thoughts on the subject of landing an agent. Turns out this wasn’t a great idea. Instead of accompanying the blog entry link with an appropriate prologue of some sort, most of the time I’ve just been slapping the link on the thread and dusting off my hands. It’s come to my attention that some have perceived it as laziness and self-promotion. I know because not one but two close friends of mine called me out just last week. While I haven’t been thinking like an opportunistic jackass promoting my coaching business, this behavior has made me look like one. I apologize for my lazy link-posting. Posting the link is fine, but not adding some context has been laziness and the optics have been deservedly not-so-great. I should have been more engaged. Your questions should be given their due consideration and thoughtfully answered. I’m all about having smart Systems of Thought and being efficient, but this wasn’t well-thought out. Intent good, execution bad. TIP OF THE WEEK What can we learn from this? Social media has become just awful. However, it’s a necessary evil in this breakneck-speed age we live in to more effectively stay in touch with family & friends and as a marketing tool for us as entrepreneurs. On top of that, it’s easy to fall into bad habits originally intended to make our lives easier. How can we do better? Make sure your content has value; whether it’s a blog post, the sharing of a video, article, or just your thoughts. The amount of hyper-personal baggage and political vitriol posted regularly makes me wanna recommend therapy and some deep knee bends or everyone. And please please please stop posting pics of your food. It always looks gross. If you’re going to comment on a post, thread, tweet, or what-have-you, have a contributive point. Repeating what everyone says or interjecting your politics, religious beliefs, or just plain ole’ negativity doesn’t help anyone. Don’t take a conversation off course just to serve you. Oh, and for the love of Pete, stop posting the comment, “Following”. Just Like the post or adjust your notification settings for the post. Think before you click. Look at what you’re about to post and ask yourself, “How would I feel if someone posted this on my thread? Am I being helpful? Patronizing? Supportive? Dismissive?” Then read it again and adjust accordingly. NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, April 25th @8PM EST: Marketing 201 webinar, ‘Keeping Clients Coming Back’. I’ll tell you the REAL secret to client retention. Thursday, May 16th @8PM EST: Business and Money 201 webinar, ‘Time Management’. Thursday, May 23rd @8PM EST: Marketing 201 webinar, ‘Thriving in a Smaller Market city’. Thursday, May 30th 9am-3pm EST: “The VO Tech Deep Dive and eLearning Extravaganza!” September 13th-15: “VOcation NYC” HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Bulldogs are Beautiful Day and Jelly Bean Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

I had the pleasure of narrating the fascinating book, “Why We Elect Narcissists and Sociopaths and How We Can Stop” by Bill Eddy. Here’s the blurb: Best-selling author, therapist, lawyer, and mediator Bill Eddy describes how dangerous, high-conflict personalities have gained power in governments worldwide – and what citizens can do to keep these people out of office. Democracy is under siege. The reason isn’t politics but personalities: Too many countries have come under the sway of high-conflict people (HCPs) who have become politicians. Most of these high-conflict politicians have traits of narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial (i.e., sociopathic) personality disorder, or both. This is the first and only guide for identifying and thwarting them. HCPs don’t avoid conflict, they thrive on it, widening social divisions and exacerbating international tensions. Eddy, the world’s leading authority on high-conflict personalities, explains why they’re so seductive and describes the telltale traits that define HCPs – he even includes a helpful list of forty typical HCP behaviors. Drawing on historical examples from Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Nixon to Trump, Maduro, and Putin, Eddy shows how HCPs invent enemies and manufacture phony crises, so they can portray themselves as the sole heroic figure who can deal with them, despite their inability to actually solve problems. He describes the best ways to expose HCPs as the charlatans they are, reply to their empty and misleading promises, and find genuine leaders to support. Eddy brings his deep psycho-therapeutic experience to bear on a previously unidentified phenomena that presents a real threat to the world. Like I said: fascinating. It’s very easy for this conversation to slide into a political rant of some sort but as most of you know, I never discuss politics in this blog or on social media so I’m not going there. I’ll thank you in advance for keeping the comments civil. Or not. You do you. TIP OF THE WEEK Fortunately, I can’t think of anyone in the voiceover industry that fits the HCP profile. There are some narcissists out there to be sure, but sociopaths much less both? I’d like to think if there are or have been any in our circles, they get exposed and burn out on social media pretty quickly. On top of that, a voice talent who tries to make trouble in the booth won’t last long anyway. If you think there are people in your personal or professional life who may be narcissists, sociopaths, or both, you might wanna pick up this book. The Audible version is on sale now and the hardcover releases May 21st. After narrating this book, I’ve realized there has been at least one in my life and man, does it explain a lot! NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, May 16th @8PM EST: Business and Money 201 webinar, ‘Time Management’. Thursday, May 23rd @8PM EST: Marketing 201 webinar, ‘Thriving in a Smaller Market city’. Thursday, May 30th 9am-3pm EST: “The VO Tech Deep Dive and eLearning Extravaganza!” ! September 13th-15: “VOcation NYC”! HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Lei Day and Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with you… QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

Education, specifically the current American educational system, has really done a number on us voice talent. Think about the 20th Century “American Dream” career track that has been ingrained in us… The “right way” to realize the American dream is to work hard in primary school and high school so you can get into a good college. If you work hard there, you get your 4-year degree and the second you graduate, you land a job at some wonderful company that will take care of you & your family for the next 40 years with low-cost health insurance, paid vacations, and a pension until you retire with gold watch and plaque in hand. If you’re looking to climb a few more rungs (and if you work hard) you can train to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, chemist, or whatever by getting your MFA, PHD, etc. and get a job where you will have financial security and work for a big honkin’ corporation, hospital, firm, etc. If you’re not “smart enough”, instead of college you either go to a vocational school or train on the job to be a plumber, carpenter, etc. and join the union where they will protect you and yours with collective bargaining, health benefits, etc. BTW this is a horrible stereotype that has been perpetuated for far too long. You could also join the military, police, fire fighters, coal miners, or work on an assembly line in a manufacturing plant and enjoy many of the same benefits. If you couldn’t or wouldn’t do any of the above because you didn’t have the smarts (again a horrible stereotype) or the money you became a janitor, garbage collector, or diner waitress and were looked down upon by society. Even with these jobs there was a certain level of stability. In other words, the closer you stick to this model for getting a good education, the better your chances of being successful. In the 21st Century, that model has been turned upside down. The 20th Century model no longer sets up many Americans for success. Why? College has become much more expensive and leaves many with crippling long-term debt. College degrees aren’t as valuable as they once were and job security has become a thing of the past. Companies rise & fall much quicker now and are less loyal to their employees. The pension has been replaced with the much riskier 401(k). 25% of Americans can’t get health insurance through their employers or don’t have an employer to get it from (like us voice talent). Housing is now far more expensive in proportion to income. Take all that and apply it to us crazy-ass voice talents who want to go way outside of the now-dysfunctional 20th Century American Dream model. There are far more resources out there than there used to be for the self-employed, but we have to figure it out all by ourselves. You can’t major in entrepreneurship, much less voiceovers. TIP OF THE WEEK To be an effective voice talent these days, you need to overcome the decades of cultural and educational dogma that has been pounded into our heads as well as learn to navigate the waters of entrepreneurship since there is no preset mechanism for us. How do we do that? Education. Set yourself up for success in the modern world through the prism of the five categories of your voiceover business (as always, thank you Voiceovers Unlimited!): Cash Flow: learn how to manage your finances effectively using accounting software like Mint, find good credit card deals, join a credit union, etc. Tools: utilize the right hardware and software to run your business effectively; everything from microphones to CRM software to business cards. Technique: continually hone your craft with coaching & copy practice and keep up with trends by reading voiceover industry blogs & magazines. Marketing: build your brand, communicate that brand effectively via social media and analog marketing, and attend live events so you’re not just another introvert afraid to come out of the booth. Health: this is the big one! Stay in shape mentally, physically, and emotionally. Get a Health Savings Account, set up a retirement account, and join a Mastermind or other group to support your peers. In other words, the closer you stick to the modern idea of getting a good education, the better your chances of being successful. Yes, you can be an effective voice talent these days. Education is still everything, just not the kind we got in the last century! NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, May 16th @8PM EST: Business and Money 201 webinar, ‘Time Management’. Thursday, May 23rd @8PM EST: Marketing 201 webinar, ‘Thriving in a Smaller Market city’. Thursday, May 30th 9am-3pm EST: “The VO Tech Deep Dive and eLearning Extravaganza!” is only a few weeks away and there are some seats left! September 13th-15: “VOcation NYC” HAPPY HAPPYS Happy World Donkey Day! and Eat What You Want Day! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.

The VO Strategist. That’s me! Even the VO Strategist has to take some time off to do human-type stuff. This week I’ll be at the Audio Publishers Association Conference (APAC) and most of the related festivities & workshops. Since I’ll be busy running around Manhattan with all of my audio book homies, this is a good time to make a couple of announcements… Announcement #1! I’ve been producing voiceover demos for a little over a year now. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some fabulous voice talents who make me look much better than I really am. 😉 I’d like to share them with you so please check them out at https://www.vostrategist.com/reviews. If you’re interested in producing an eLearning or Explainer Demo, drop me a line and we can have a chin-wag about it. The VO Strategist Shop is open! https://www.vostrategist.com/shop As of right now there are two kinds of goodies in the shop right now. The first are some free templates to help you run your voiceover business. They’re listed as one dollar because Wix won’t let you post free items, BUT if you use the promo code in the product description you’ll get a 100% discount. The second kind is my video series. This is a quick and inexpensive way to learn about voiceover genres, the business of voiceovers, and voiceover marketing concepts & strategies. As of right now the catalog consists of: Learning to do eLearning Explainer Videos Explained Marketing Basics I will be posting more free templates & videos in the coming months so stay tuned! A huge thank you to all of the students who have trusted and believed in me for the past seven years. When I started coaching, I was terrified I’d be perceived as just another predatory hack. I’ve done my best to serve the voiceover industry by giving back to a community that has changed my life and been so, so kind to me. I am continuously humbled and continuously striving to learn & grow as the VO Strategist, a voice talent, and an aspiring good human. NEWS AND NOTES Thursday, May 30th 9am-3pm EST: “The VO Tech Deep Dive and eLearning Extravaganza!” is THIS WEEK. there are a precious few seats left so get them while you still can. Details below. Wednesday, June 12th @8:30 PM EST: The Webinar ‘Online Casting Sites’. In this special one-time webinar, I’ll talk about the pros and cons of online casting sites in general and Pay-to-Play sites in particular. Thursday, June 13th @8:oo PM EST: The “Business and Money 201” Webinar, ‘Managing Your Money’. In this one-hour webinar, I’ll talk about what to do with your paycheck and how to manage your finances, credit cards, taxes, insurance, and retirement. Thursday, June 20th @8PM EST: Marketing 201 webinar, ‘Brand Yourself’. In this one-hour webinar, I’ll talk about what branding is and how to build your own brand. HAPPY HAPPYS Happy Map Reading Week and Barbecue Month! QUOTE OF THE WEEK Tom Dheere is a 20+year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for hundreds of clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a voiceover business & marketing consultant known as the VO Strategist and produces the comic book “Agent 1.22”.