Corporate

Balancing Life With Paying the Bills

Since the age of 16, I have always worked in some way, shape, or form. I have always been exceptionally hard-working and dedicated to having an income. Having gone through phases with less and then other phases with more, I have always been very motivated to ensure I have funds coming in so I can continue going. As an actor and voiceover artist, I soon realised those moments of where things were better funded were few and far between when starting out. Finding balance in your voiceover life is a bit easier said than done.

I did not go into a massive waft of acting and voiceover work when I finished my studies, instead, I got a job in retail. As a young man, it was nice having a steady flow of money, and the drive to progress and earn more was extremely attractive. This is precisely what I did. Before too long, a few years in, I had an excellent bonus scheme, a company car, and a salary that was incredibly attractive. Sounds great, right?

What Happened to My Voiceover Life?

Well despite the money, the rewards, the benefits, and the structure – I was unhappy. In fact, towards the end, I was exceptionally unhappy! You can catch my blog and article about ‘breaking out of the day job’ back on my media page where I go into why I was unhappy in more detail, but the basic truth on this is because my heart was in acting and voice acting. There is one other element to this… It was the culture! Waking up at 5am, being exhausted after work and for what? Well, the environment was high pressure with massive expectations and low results. I have always flourished in any task I have taken, smashed the goals, expectations, and targets but the exhaustion is insane. You can work in that environment and it is never enough or the praise is minimum. At this point I will share something I learnt in my journey, did you know we all have motivations we resonate more with others? The list of motivations is:

1. Money (prospects of more money drives us)
2. Praise (a lot of people are motivated by affirming words)
3. Work-life balance (some would rather work more hours in less days to free up more time elsewhere)
4. Targets (constantly having something on the plate is a driver)
5. Achievement (awards, prizes and gifts are a motivator)

You might be reading this and seeing which of these you resonate with immediately. You resonate more with some than others. My employment did not really have much of that when I got high into retail management aside from the money – which was comparably low when measuring the time, responsibility, and sacrifice involved.

BREAKING OUT of the Shackles

When the article was published I was celebrating the fact that I had started a business from scratch, or more to the point, added another avenue to my acting business. At this point in time, I had started booking work, and the future looked positive. I had not broken out yet, but in hindsight, I was about a year away from being free! It’s warming looking back and seeing how things changed from this point. What I will say is the prospects of breaking out kept me highly motivated to work hard and give my everything. So let us talk about that.

The Voiceover Life of Being in Two Places at Once

So, whilst hustling this new work and building this new career for myself, I still had to work insane hours in this day job too. How did I do this? Well from 6 pm until as late as midnight, I was working away at my business. It was like having two jobs. Sleep was like 4-5 hours daily, and diet was… well! Interesting. I had at least one healthy meal a day, but chocolate helped mentally, and sometimes when I was busy, I would eat where I could, so a sandwich and a packet of crisps would be a decent go-to! A lot of the things I did during my evening pushes I still do today, including:

• Auditioning for jobs
• Recording samples
• Marketing everywhere, reaching out and following up
• Building and writing content
• Networking and going to events
• Connecting with new contacts
• Taking workshops
• Listening to webinars
• and much, much more

The Prayers of a Voiceover Artist

I longed to become a parent but consistently feared the prospects of being a Dad who was not present due to his work. I had one prayer throughout my time toiling the day job in retail: ’’Lord, get me out of here before I become a parent.’’ Miraculously the week after I had left my full-time day job was the week I found out my wife had conceived. The timing was perfect. Whilst my wife was pregnant, I took another job which was much less in hours and stress, but things developed so much that by the time my daughter was born nine months later, I was working solely as a self-employed entrepreneur.

What’s Next in the Developing Voiceover Life?

My day is filled now with industry-relevant clients I offer numerous services to, but it all feeds back into a performance-based business. I spend some time every day developing content (like this, or my podcast ‘Faith and Famous’). I spend time working on client work. To no surprise I continue to audition and self-tape regularly. Everything I listed above I am still doing daily; marketing, networking, social media, developing my SEO and making friends. The only difference between now and then is I did more marketing in the past due to my desperation and now I am doing more work because I have built my foundation to a point where I can be self-sufficient as an entrepreneur.

The Dreams of Tomorrow as a Northern Voiceover Artist

I still dream of working more in voice over and in front of the camera. I am pleased to have worked in Anime this year and booked with Starbucks on screen. I love my ever-growing client list and the contacts and friends I have made. Tomorrow is unknown; it always is! But I feel so much excitement to see how this develops. What will my next job be? Who is the next friend I will make? Where can I add value? Who will I network and connect with? It’s unknown, but it is so exciting! As it says in Psalms 84:7, from glory to glory and strength to strength!

Where Does It All Begin for an Actor & Voiceover Artist?

Getting motivated is a substance in itself, right? Often, it is the starting point to building a brand and/or business. As a parent, I do not always feel motivated to clean up on an evening, and much is the same way as an actor and voiceover artist, I do not always feel motivated to push ahead with my business. Researching new clients, keeping social media fresh, keeping the strings of communication fresh with existing clients, and then all the fun admin stuff just do not motivate me. So how does one feed their voiceover creativity?

Motivating the Performer!

A question for you… yes, that is correct; I am presenting you with a question. All of a sudden, the reading element of this is about to stop and be replaced with a moment of thought as you digest and answer this question.

How badly do you want it?

That is it! Do you want to work when you want, on your own terms and schedule? Do you want to build something which gives you financial freedom and opportunity? Do you want to build a client list with some of the world’s finest? Do you want to continue growing and booking different roles across the board?

If you really want this, then put that at the centre focus of everything you do each and every day. The fun part is when we are in the booth going wild, but the supporting pillars surrounding that are all the marketing and admin-related tasks. They are the pillars that keep us going.

The Essence of Voiceover Creativity for the Talent

I have found both personally and from spending time with other actors and voiceover artists that we are all driven by a love to perform. It all starts with a tiny spark. Similar to how all it takes is a spark to create a massive inferno within us lies a tiny spark for our creativity. This spark fuels us and the more we do it the bigger it becomes and the more it spreads. It is almost as though we ascend to a different level of focus where our usual patterns are temporarily left on the shelf.

Typically speaking I think about and undertake several tasks each and every day. I am thinking about what chores need doing, the work I have on, what time I am going to eat dinner or take my daughter to the park – you know the stuff I mean, I am sure. But when I am in full force in my booth portraying a range of wild characters, everything in my head leaves and I find myself in storyteller mode.

I find myself back in the mind of an 8-year-old where I can be and do anything I want, at the subject only of however far my imagination will take me. It becomes real for those moments of performance where everything the character says, does, sees, smells, and feels becomes the truth at that moment. I have also found this level of immersion to be the truth the client and casting directors are so desperately seeking from us as actors and voiceover artists.

Voice Talents Using Their Imaginations and Seeking Adventure!

Once upon a time, most of us would have found ourselves on the school playground enjoying the world of make-believe. In that environment, you would find a president, an astronaut, a superhero, and just about everything else available within high-profile roles. Kids do not care! They are also the number 1 audience member who will see through a mediocre performance, they have to believe, they have to see your commitment. In the playground, they are committed, and we must match that!

So, where did it all go wrong? Well, imagine that our imagination is like a muscle. The older we got, the more our attention was focused on other things meaning our imagination was not receiving the exercise it so vividly deserved, so weakened. Many of us also became more focused on what those around us think and what society depicts as acceptable.

So can you have that child-like imagination but still fit in? sure you can! I consider myself a moderately eccentric individual when measuring my personality type. I am someone who does not really care all that much about what other people think; what you see is what you get – complete transparency, no deception. So, I will certainly contribute to a formal discussion, encapsulating the behaviours of a working professional and business owner, good punctuality, a high level of work, and so on. But I am fully engaged with my imagination and love to have fun! I love building relationships with people and forming friendships I believe most humans do seek relationships. That being said, some would look to go deeper than others and every relationship is different too, so it’s an interesting one to measure.

I take my personality and bring it into the session – the client gets me! I present myself with all the excellent business qualities someone expects, but they are getting my personality too. I have been fortunate in that it has made me memorable and triggered repeat work and referrals. I believe this is the difference.

Voice Actors Finding Genuine Believability

Where am I going with this? Not only does your performance need to be believable, but you as a person need to be believable too. Some actors may find it easier than others to turn on their imagination whilst others might find it easier to bring their charm to a session. But when you can do both, both elevate. Your personality in the booth brings down your walls and the client’s walls and creates an excellent platform for the character to flow. The commitment to the adventure (your imagination) compliments you as a person because you demonstrate that you are not scared to go where others would not go. Those places long forgotten about as a child are obtainable to all of us! When imagination and personality walk hand in hand, congratulations, you have found your playground! Finding your playground as an adult with all the skills and disciplines you have acquired is what sets you apart as an actor and voice actor, and that’s what is going to obtain new clients, keep clients, bring clients back, and get new referrals. Next thing you know – the dream jobs are slowly coming in, and it is all because you found your essence of creativity and utilised it correctly.