I thought it’d be fun to share a few things no one told me before I started in voiceover—along with some of the misconceptions I hear from people just getting into the industry.
There were so many that I had to split this into two parts!
Nobody Told Me It Would Take Time to Book Consistently
One of the most common calls we get at AVS is from someone hoping to quit their job and do voiceover full-time by the end of the year.
While that’s certainly possible for a small percentage of people, it’s not the norm.
It took me four years before I was consistently booking through my Atlanta agent. Everyone’s journey is different, but building a voiceover career takes time.
Think of it like earning a college degree. You wouldn’t expect to start your first semester and be making six figures by graduation a few months later. Voiceover is no different—you’re building skills, relationships, and experience that compound over time.
Takeaway: Focus on progress, not speed.
Nobody Told Me a Great Voice Wasn’t Enough
If you’ve had countless people tell you, “You have such a great voice!”—that’s wonderful.
But having a pleasant voice isn’t what books work.
Clients hire people who can tell a story, connect emotionally, take direction (technically and emotionally), solve problems, and deliver consistently.
Your voice gets you noticed. Your skills build a career.
Nobody Told Me On-Camera Actors STILL Need Voice Over Training
I once overheard an actress at an in-person callback say she couldn’t understand why she never booked voiceovers.
The interesting part? She’d never actually trained in voice acting.
Voiceover is absolutely acting—but it’s its own craft. Just as theatre, film, improv, and commercials all require different skill sets, voiceover has techniques and expectations that need to be learned.
The most successful actors never stop training.
Nobody Told Me That One Big Booking Doesn’t Mean You’ve “Made It”
I’ve heard people assume that once you land a national commercial or a dream client, the work will just keep coming.
I wish it worked that way.
The reality is that many incredibly successful voice actors aren’t household names, and they stay successful because they never stop learning and getting better, marketing, building relationships, and planting seeds for the future.
A big booking is exciting—but it’s not the finish line.
Nobody Told Me Voice Over is Mainly Running a Business
One of my favorite quotes from this month’s AVS Podcast guest, Saundi Harrison-Cooksey, is that voiceover is far more business than performance.
You have to market yourself, build relationships, manage finances, follow up with clients, maintain your studio, and keep learning. Think of it like any athlete would: they’re consistently training to get better in their sport. Same goes for us as voice over actors!
And if you want to dive deeper, Saundi will also be leading a Voiceover Business Workshop this September.
Nobody Told Me Voice Over Can Be Lonely
Most of us spend our days alone in a booth talking to…well…ourselves.
We rarely meet our clients face-to-face, which can make this career surprisingly isolating.
That’s one of the reasons we love hosting our Off Mic Night socials. Spending time with other voice actors who understand the unique challenges of this business can be incredibly refreshing.
If you’re not in Atlanta, consider organizing a meetup where you live. Your career—and your mental health—will thank you.
Nobody Told Me That a $10,000 Booking Isn’t REALLY $10,000
Every time I book a big job, I have to remind myself not to mentally spend the money before it hits my bank account.
Between agent or manager commissions, taxes, business expenses, and retirement savings, that number gets much smaller, very quickly.
It’s one of the reasons I encourage voice actors to treat their careers like a business from day one.
Revenue isn’t the same thing as income.
Put some of that money from the check you get to the side for savings, taxes and miscellaneous so that you’ve got enough to weather any hiccups that come in life!
There are plenty more things nobody told me before I got into voiceover, so stay tuned for Part 2 next week!
