If you’re on this website, chances are that you’re either considering or have recently started out in the world of Voice Overs. There are a lot of questions to be answered as you begin, however we feel that the “Business” end of it isn’t anywhere near the top of the list. I’ll explain why in a moment.
Last year we spotted a Voice Over Workshop (Not in Melbourne) which promised to show participants how they could “Build a sustainable voice over business from home”. We had some discussion around this and decided it was a lot like putting the cart before the horse.
Now to be honest, not everyone shares this opinion, as I’ve also seen a few people being quite critical of Voice Over courses / workshops / Coaches who don’t teach the business side of Voice Over. So why don’t we?
You can’t start a business until you know your craft
Learn the skills involved in Voice Over, practise and improve. You can pretty much apply this to most types of work but for example if you wanted to get into Plumbing, there’s also quite a journey of learning and experience you need to gain before you undertake any business activity.
Your goal may not be business driven
There are different reasons for wanting to learn about voice overs and not all of them are about wanting to learn a skill and make money from it. For example we had one person attend our voice over workshop because they often cast voice over artsts and wanted to get a better understandng of what’s involved for the artist. We’ve also had a few people who attened a workshop or a coaching session as it would help with their current job but weren’t looking to take it up as a side gig.
There are also those who just want to do it for fun. Look on YouTube for fan overdubs of Anime – Many of the people are just having fun, nothing serious. Nothing wrong with that.
There are better places to learn about running a business
If / when you want to get really serious about running your own business, that’s also a skill set that can be learned.
Head over to Open.edu.au and you’ll find plenty of short courses in business or look at Opencolleges.edu.au and get a nationally recognised qualification – Certificate IV in New Small Business. LinkedIn Learning is also a great tool for bite sized chunks of knowlege.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Victorian Government has plenty of business resources at https://www.business.vic.gov.au/.
Somebody else can take care of the business side of things
Myself and Cecelia are fortunate enough to have a Voice Over agent. They take care of recommending us to clients, marketing, taking bookings and collecting payments. There are plenty of amazing Voice Over actors out there who have no idea about the ‘business’ of voice over…and that’s ok becuase it’s not their job. Getting on the books of a great agent isn’t easy and for all the reasons above, it may not be your goal.
If you’re ready to focus on learning Voice Over skills and starting out by having some fun, book into an upcoming workshop or 1 on 1 coaching session.