Career: How Many Big Mistakes Have YOU Made In Your Voice Over Career? Here’s 7, by Paul Strikwerda

VOICE OVER CAREER
How Many Big Mistakes Have YOU Made
In Your Voice Over Career? Here’s 7 …
June 27, 2017

By Paul Strikwerda
Voice Actor

You know what they say about hindsight, and it’s annoying.
Especially in retrospect.

The idea is that, had we known better,
we would have done better.

That sounds very reasonable in theory, but
in reality, I find most people to be stubbornly unreasonable. Hindsight
or no hindsight.

In many major decisions, logic seems to play a minor part:

• the choice of a life partner (or to stay single);
• whom to trust in
  business and in politics;
• whether to have children or not, to name a
  few.

If logic and reason would rule the
world, no one would be overweight or smoke cigarettes. There would be
no littering, global warming, texting while driving, or unprotected sex.

Instead, we live in a world where
people cannot control their most primitive impulses, their most
unfounded fears, and their most irrational ideas. History repeats itself
as fallible human beings fail to learn from the past.

As countless
psychologists have observed: previous behavior is a good predictor of
future behavior.

Having said that, I really wish I had
known a thing or two before I started speaking for a living.

TOP 7 VO CAREER MISTAKES

Here’s my
top 7 of things I did, before I knew better:

1. Putting on a voice

Listening back to old recordings, I
noticed that I was trying too hard to sound like a voice-over.

I was
imitating someone else, instead of being me. There’s too much effort. I
spoke louder than I normally do, delivering a speech, instead of having a
conversation.

Takeaway: There’s no one like you. Be effortlessly authentic.

2. Auditioning for everything under the sun

Once upon a time I believed in the
numbers game. You know, the silly idea that the more you audition, the
greater the chance you’ll eventually land a job.

Forget that. If you
don’t sound like John Wayne, Darth Vader, or Helen Mirren, don’t be a
pretender. It’s embarrassing. Only take on what you know you can pull
off, while developing your range.

Takeaway: Be selective in what you audition for. Play to your strengths.

3. Not delivering pristine audio

What’s the number one reason most auditions end up in the garbage bin? Bad sound quality!

In hindsight, I took too long to get a professional recording space,and quality equipment. Once I did, my bookings tripled, because the
audio from my home studio was just as good as the audio of my demos.

Takeaway: If you want to play with the best, you need to invest. Having a home studio is a must.

4. Approaching it like a hobby

You may have an amazing voice and
great equipment, but that’s no guarantee that you’ll have a successful
voice over career.

You must learn how to run a freelance business, how
to manage your money, and how to toot your horn without annoying the
heck out of everybody.

Takeaway: Being business savvy is often more important than having a unique talent.

5. Being reactive instead of proactive

Being a voice over is not for those
who wait and see, or for those playing the blame game.

You’re in the
driver’s seat, buddy! If you don’t steer your career, you’ll never know
where you’ll end up. Successful solopreneurs are risk-takers,
go-getters, and fast learners. They love to lead, and hate to follow.

Takeaway: Don’t let things happen. Make them happen!

6. Trying to reinvent the wheel

You may think you know it all, and can do it all, but you don’t know what you don’t know.

It’s better to admit your limitations, than to be willfully ignorant.
The self-employed wear many hats. Dare to excel in a few things, instead
of being mediocre in many.

Takeaway: Do your homework, and ask for help. Outsource the things you’re not (yet) good at.

7. Not charging enough

I thought that low rates would get me
work. It turned out that by charging less, I branded myself a desperate
beginner. People didn’t take me seriously, and those who paid the least,
were the biggest pains in the neck.

Takeaway: Any fool can
undercut the competition and go broke in the process. Running a
for-profit business starts with valuing yourself and your services
properly.

TOLD YOU SO!

Well, there you have it.
Now I can tell you “I told you so.”

Not that it’s going to make any difference.
Some people don’t like being told what to do, and I understand that.
The most profound life lessons are often the ones coming from experience, and not from books, blogs, or well-meaning mothers.

But it might take you a few years to come to that realization.
Unless you have perfect vision.
—————
ABOUT PAUL
Paul Strikwerda is a 25-year veteran of the voice over industry whose Nethervoice
service features German and Dutch voice overs, translation and
evaluation services. Born in Holland, he has worked for Dutch national
and international radio, the BBC and American Public Radio. Although 90%
of his work is in English, Strikwerda also records in Dutch, German and
French. Clients include Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, and the
Discovery Channel. And he is author of the new book, Making MONEY In Your PJs: Freelancing for voice-overs and other solopreneurs, and publishes an informative and entertaining
blog, Double Dutch.

Web: www.nethervoice.com
Double Dutch Blog: www.nethervoice.com/nethervoice
Making MONEY In Your PJs: http://makingmoneyinyourpjs.com