It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. I’m a believer in self-responsibility. Responsibility both personally and professionally.
Challenges Arise:
I won’t lie, the past several months (March through mid-November 2020) have been a challenge. Let me first preface that in the grand scheme of things, and in looking at the big picture things are fine, I have my health and can pay my bills. There though have been various challenges on the business front.
I’m so grateful to be able to work from home. I didn’t even need to pivot in that regard when covid 19 made its entrance, as I’ve been recording voiceovers and working from my home recording studio since March 2014. So yes, I have been able to work, but admittedly for the volume of work in voiceovers (for me) has gone down. It stems from many factors. Some factors are “outside” of my business and some factors are “within”.
Have Business Paperwork and Equipment Up-to-date and Accessible:
Going back to being responsible, I have control over the things “within” my business. I need to continually analyze and see what’s working and what’s not, and then fix what’s not; get feedback from clients and colleagues; take classes to hone my craft and learn about new genres; make sure all equipment is up-to-date and working properly; and confirm my demos are as good as they can be and are a current reflection of the work I do and where I am as a voice talent. So far so good in going through the aforementioned list. When a new client or a prospective client asks for rates, demos, studio information, and auditions I can send the needed information and audio to them promptly.
And Have Types of Paperwork You Didn’t Think You Needed Up-to-date:
This is all great except…it turns out I was missing something, and that being an updated CV or resume. This important summary of experience, education, objectives, etc. is of course commonplace when applying for most positions. In voiceover, CVs or resumes aren’t asked for too often, but it does come up from time to time. And there was a recent time when applying for a prospective voiceover job on LinkedIn that a resume was needed. So I rolled up my sleeves, got to work, and said to myself, “I can do this”. I had a resume on file, but it needed to be updated and added to. It needed to be sharp and ready to go. There was some specific information the potential client needed, so adhering to this, and going through my records and paperwork it took me around three hours to update my resume. Whew! It needed to be updated long ago, so this was a good thing.
Ready for More Opportunities:
As of writing this, I have gotten word that the voiceover/narrator position that I sent the updated resume to was filled by another applicant. Because of this, however, I’m sharper and have even more of my paperwork ready and up-to-date to be able to take advantage of new opportunities as they present themselves. Sure I’ll continually need to update my CV, other paperwork, rate sheet, and demos, but at least now I’m sharp and ready to move forward.