In past years, we’ve done a January Challenge to help jumpstart your year. With us starting the VO Monthly Mentorship Membership last year, we’ve shifted the challenge to that group (in a different way).
No matter how many years you’ve been doing voice over, January is a great time to review your business. I wanted to share a checklist I created for my VO business. Some of this may not apply to you, depending on where you are.
Here’s how to use it:
1| Repeat after me, “I will NOT get overwhelmed.” This is designed to result in clarity, even though it may seem overwhelming/chaotic at first.
2| Print out the checklist HERE.
3| Read any additional notes of mine below.
4| Grab a piece of paper (or your computer).
5| Only REVIEW the items. Example: Pull up your website and look over your demos, about me, clients, etc.
6| Create ACTION ITEMS for each category. Example: Add updated commercial demo to website.
7| Once you have all your action items, pull 3 of the top priority actions. That’s your focus for now. When you’re done with those, pull 3 more from your dump list.
Download a printable version of the checklist HERE. See below for some of my notes that couldn’t fit on the checklist.
WEBSITE
It’s easy to set up your website, then forget about it. A quick audit will help you make sure everything is working and updated.
- Demos/Clips – are these up to date? Does everything play smoothly? Are there additional keywords you can add?
- About Me – if you said that you’ve been doing VO for 5 years but that was 7 years ago, update that. Make it easy and say, “A little under a decade” so you don’t have to update it for a while.
- Clients You’ve Worked With – are there any new ones to add? Any old ones you can remove?
- Check Functionality – Email/Contact Page, Speed, Backend Updates etc. Send your website to a friend and ask them to look over it, use your contact form, click on demos, etc. Sometimes it helps to have a separate set of eyes.
DESKTOP
I LOOOVE doing this every year. I’m on my computer all the time, so having an organized place to work is imperative.
- Delete Old Files – I keep my auditions and bookings throughout the year but at the end of the year, I delete everything past 2-3 months.
- Consolidate Into Folders – Sometimes things get relegated to downloads or just put in my general documents folder. I take this time to make sure all my folders are organized and grab my stragglers.
- Listen to old auditions – Before I delete them, I go back and listen to the first few seconds. It helps me to put on a casting hat and know what they’re hearing. I’ve gained a lot of insight from this practice.
- Current Year W9 – I fill out a W9 for the new year so it’s ready to go when clients ask for it. It’s a simple way to save time throughout the year.
- Easy to Access Common Files – Bank Info, Resume, Demos, Headshot, Bio, etc. I make sure everything is updated and easy to access. This industry moves fast and saving time searching for these things is helpful.
- Tax/Financial Statements – I make sure they’re all in a folder for that year.
- Bookmarks – Another time saver is making sure you have the sites you frequently use for VO bookmarked in folders. Some examples are: GVAA rate guide, Atlanta Voiceover Studio :), AVS Mentorship Portal, Online Casting Sites, etc.
ONLINE CASTING SITES
Voice123 changes their policies/processes more than social media algorithms. At least it feels like that. Thankfully, Natasha and Katherine of V123 Pros keep us informed. This is a good time to make sure all your online casting profiles are complete and updated.
Update Samples
Keywords – do you need to add any? Did you notice any frequent keyword descriptions of your voice for your sweet spot/bookable read?
Bio/About – Try and view this through the lens of a buyer. Would they want to hire you based on this?
Review Shortlists/Likes/etc. – This helps build confidence in what you do really well and what buyers are loving about you.
Reach back out to people who booked you to say thank you – Keeps you top of mind. I did this recently and found that one of my past clients left the company, is now freelance and created a short film that went to Cannes!
FINANCES (I’m not a financial planner. As always, seek advice from professionals. This is just what has helped me in my VO career over the years.)
Every year, I take one small step toward understanding taxes and finances. Some years it feels like I’m taking those steps in quicksand. ;p Actually, it’s been cool to look back and see how far I’ve come. Things are so much more streamlined and clarifying.
- Profit & Loss – Look at Total Revenue – is it trending up, staying flat? If inconsistent, focus on what you can control to make it go up.
- Revenue by Categories – What genres did you do well in? I tag my invoices in Quickbooks by genre (Commercial – radio/broadcast/podcast/etc, Radio Imaging, etc) and by source (specific agent, studio roster, direct marketing, etc). This allows me to create a report easily showing my year’s trend.
- Expenses – Group into GROWTH, OPERATING and CONVENIENCE. Growth = training, demos, conferences, etc. Operating = Source Connect, website, online casting. Convenience = subscriptions. Ask – does this increase income, protect income or save time. If it doesn’t do any of these, consider getting rid of it.
- Profit Margin – Net Profit divided by Revenue (40-60% is a healthy profit margin, under 30% means you’re overspending or undercharging). Of course, if you’re JUST beginning your career, don’t expect to have a healthy margin. This will come later.
- Cash Flow – Can I pay myself a consistent amount each month? Can I increase what I paid last year? Do I need to decrease it? I had a lower year a few years ago, so I decreased my monthly pay but by the end of the year, I was able to put a bunch more in savings and toward my IRA. Then the next year, I increased it.
OPPORTUNITY SOURCES
These are the different BUCKETS where you get your VO opportunities – agents, direct marketing, studio/company rosters, online casting sites, etc.
- Where am I booking work from? Use this to determine action items to book more work across sources.
- Do you need to add or subtract any sources? This next year, I’m considering making a big agent change. That would be subtracting one of my sources.
- Do all your sources have updated materials? Did you update your demo? Get a new genre demo? Complete a stand-up comedy class?
COMMUNICATION
It’s easy to set up a signature or social profile, then forget to check in and make sure the information is up to date.
- Email Signature – Is all the information accurate? Did you include Source Connect 3 but now have Source Connect 4? Does this reflect your brand? Any tweaks needed?
- Social Media – check your profile(s) and bio(s). Is the information updated?
- LinkedIn – check your about section, services and experiences. Is there anything that needs to be updated?
MARKETING
What did you learn about yourself last year that may help fine tune your branding and marketing?
- Updated messaging – Did you hear clients describe your voice/what it’s like working with you? What did they say? Was there something said across the board that would be helpful to add to your messaging to potential clients?
- Updated materials – Any updated demos, training, website, etc?
- What can be streamlined? – What can you do to make direct marketing more seamless/efficient?
- What worked well last year?
- What didn’t work well?
