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grattitude

It Can All Disappear in a Moment

November 22, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Time of Thanks

This season, I think it’s natural to spend time thinking about what is going well in our lives and what we are thankful for. Thanksgiving seems to bring that out in all of us. I have a wonderful pilates instructor, Gwen, and when we are alone and I can actually breathe, when tend to talk about real issues. Recently we were chatting about health and well ness and how we are amazing that you can get to a point where you reach your goals, that are or were not so easy to reach, and how quickly they can all be undone. A run-in with some candy or a birthday night out and we are set back on our endeavors and it feels dreadful. How easily we are reminded when we give thanks that perhaps we are always teetering on the brink of perhaps being in a state we do not want to be in.

VO Foundations ChecklistOf course this chat with Gwen about our health made me draw a parallel to voice over and think about how easily it can all be undone. Imagine years of hard work and suddenly the ups and downs of voice over just continue to spiral down. I of course thought back to hearing Dave Fennoy, world famous voice actor best known for his video game roles, who I had the privilege of hearing speak for an entire day back in 2016 at a conference called VO Revolution. Perhaps it was his lack of pretension that got me, but Dave talked about how after a few big bookings he thought that he had made it. He shared how his business peaked and then plummeted. He advised working as if every day is your first day in voice over and warned that if you don’t you can lose it all. I carry this with me. This has always had my wheels turnings. So, if all that we have worked hard to build can slip aways so easily, here are some of my best tips to lay a strong foundation for your voice over business:

Be Accountable

You need a support system within the voice over community to be accountable to. When I first started in voice over, I used a journal system where I wrote my goals and focused on them and revised them. This was good but it was not enough. You need a group of others that you will meet with and answer to. I have met with and continue to meet with my accountability group weekly. They are my secret sauce and without them I would not be where I am today in my career. Every group is different. Some groups work on craft. Our group is more focussed on business. But, you need to answer to someone other than yourself.

Keep Auditioning

Auditions matter. Sure it’s great when you are on rosters and clients hire you without auditions, bur how do yhou expect to get new clients and new bookings? I once heard Bob Bergen, world renowned voice of Porgy Pig say the audition is the job. He talked about how he gets up in the 5 o’clock hour to begin his day so he does not miss out on any work opportunities. That was Bob Bergen, not some struggling actor no one has heard of, but one of the industry leaders talking about the importance of starting your day and getting on those submissions. Now, some voice actors like t submit more than others. I like to audition a lot and submit a lot. Others don’t. Remember, the better your booking ratio is, the more chance you have of getting more clients, all from auditioning.

Maintain the Client Relationships You Have

This should be a joy to do. These people already like you. They have already hired you. Now you simply have to keep in touch and remind them why you being there makes their life easier. Don’t let them forget that you have already done great work for them. Make sure they remember you are available. You can send follow up emails, newsletters, holiday cards, thank you notes, and try to get to know the people you work with.

Continue to Work on Your Craft

Remember, trends in voiceover shift. What was sought after five years ago is likely not en vogue today. You need to continually have your finger on the pulse of what is booking right now in all of the genres you work in. From continuing to attend conferences, to working with coaches, to on-going practice, your work on your craft in voice over will never end. Just as doctors and lawyers must attend conferences and professional development work shops, so must voice actors. If you see a dip in your bookings, it is often because trends have shifted and you likely need some coaching to understand what is booking right now.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: accountability, auditioning, Bob Bergen, Dave Fennoy, foundation, grattitude, health, relationships, VO, VO Revolution, voice over, voice over business, voiceover

Explainer Videos and Grattitude: Working Moms Change the Narrative

January 13, 2019 by Laura Schreiber

https://youtu.be/f1V9fzAsB6A

What triggered these thoughts?

Since Thanksgiving, I have been working out regularly with my 15 year old son Jack. Jack and I have been work out buddies before, but never with such regularity. So what motivated me, a full-time working mom of 2, to stick to my routine this time? Well since 2016 Jack has been on growth shots. He was not producing enough growth hormone and was so small he was not even on the charts. Now, with the help of Nutropin, after just two years he has grown more than two feet and is bigger than I am! But, as with all strong medications, there are terrible side effects and one of them is that Jack’s blood sugar is quite high. The doctor suggested that losing weight would help.

Jack and I joined the Max fitness challenge and have loved it. As a professional voiceover actor, I spend my days in a padded foam booth. Getting out every night for out 7:15 class has not only helped me reach me health and fitness goals, but has been invigorating in so many way. Often others in the class will comment about how great it is that Jack is there and ask why he came. Not thinking any thing of it, I would answer honestly and explain about the growth shots and Jack’s sugar. Often as busy mom’s we won’t make a change for ourselves, but for our kids we will move mountains, right?

Well one night this week Jack told me that he would prefer that I “tell the truth” when asked why he was there. I was blown away, as I thought my reply could not be more honest. Jack said he was going to Max Fitness because he was looking for a harder, more challenging workout. That was it. He objected to my response because it made him sound like a “lazy schlub.” This really got me thinking. Two truths. Two sides of the same coin. But Jack’s perspective was surely the much more optimistic one. Jack’s outlook was full of hope and did not focus on any possible negative outcomes. This had me reexamining so many facets of my life. That very day I had been complaining that I had such a tough day, when actually four great things had happened. Instead of focussing on the great things as my kid would have, I was sweating the small stuff and letting everything that did not go my way define my perspective, and I realized that was ridiculous!

Just in Time for Grattitude Day

My conversation with Jack gave me a lot to reflect on. It turns out that Friday was National Grattitude Day. For someone who spends a lot of time working as a professional narrator, narrating other peoples explainer videos and projects, it was time to change my own narrative! Ironically, I am often chosen for projects because I sound hopeful, but I continue to be so hard on my self.

https://youtu.be/cn7lkUdKRfc

Well, this grattitude day marks the begging of a conscious choice to celebrate my successes instead of fixating on my own shortcomings. It is an irony of life that I am often specifically hired for the vocal qualities of being upbeat, energetic, and happy while internally I am measuring all of the things that I did not finish or the additional jobs I had wanted to book or the blogs that were never written or the friends that I never saw. After so many years of wanting to accomplish so much, it is easier to maintain this pattern of self scrutiny when we set the bar so impossibly high.

When the reality is that we are working more than 8 hour days, booking work in a super competitive industry, and somehow still managing to feed my family, help my kids with their homework, do the laundry, workout, and see friends from time to time. When I look it at that way it seems that working mom’s everywhere should not only be celebrated by our families, but we should be doing a heck of a lot more to remind each other how proud we are!

This is My Fight Song…

A lot of times when candidates run for office they have a song for their campaign. When Jack and I are in our gym class every night, and I am just breathing and trying to make it through, a lot of times it’s the music that helps me get through. I focus on the song. The beat, the rhythm, the lyrics all help me pass the time and survive what our trainer has us doing. On Thursday the old song “Get Ready, Cause Here I Come” was playing and if there ever were a song that captured the spirit of how I feel, it is that song! The lyrics do not fit exactly, but boy does it get to the heart of how I feel. I feel like I am still just at the beginning of life’s journey and the world better be ready for me, because here I am:)

Filed Under: About Me, Voiceover Tagged With: Explainer Videos, Explainers, grattitude, Max Fittness, Narrations, narrator, voiceover, working mom

Voiceover and Fudge- What Could Be Better?

December 24, 2018 by Laura Schreiber

Giving Thanks

I don’t know what it’s like in your family, but around here when we have a yummy treat like fudge it only lasts for seconds! We circle around that package like a bunch of starving wild animals in for the kill and in the blink of an eye that box is torn apart and empty!

So, when I need to come up with a special gift, naturally fudge comes to mind! As a professional voiceover actor, all year I am rather focussed on physical wellness as it is so essential to my success. But, when holiday season rolls around, this is the time to roll out the treats and send them to the folks I am most appreciative of- my major clients. Each year, I review my financial data and take my top clients and send them a special treat. The treat should be just that, a special indulgence that they are not likely to buy themselves and lets them know just how thankful I am of their repeat confidence in me. It should be something that they are super excited to receive and that they will truly savor.

So, why did I pick a special assortment of fudge and salt water taffy from the Fudge Kitchen in Stone Harbor and Cape May this year? Well, first and foremost, the fudge is outstanding. Next, this fudge shop is special to my family. Let me flesh this out a little more….

Another Opportunity To Get to Know Each Other

As a small business owner, it is really important to me to build meaningful relationships with my clients. So, I try to make it easy for them to get to know me better. When I started my newsletter, I included this video

https://youtu.be/M7wSb_xZ1lg

which talks about how important going down the shore every summer is to my family. When we go down the shore, every night my kids get fudge from this very fudge store. They try different flavors from the samples being passed out and we typically let them buy a square. Let’s just say the fudge doesn’t last long! The fudge, then, is one of the best items that seems to be authentically part of the Jersey shore and since I am a Jersey girl, this is just perfect!

Carrying on the Tradition – While Supporting Local Business

It means a lot to me to take my kids to the beach every summer. As a full time working mom, I treasure this time with them and love every second! As a voiceover actor, it is often hard to step out of the studio, because leaving the booth means walking away from potential work, and I think as a small business owner there is always that struggle. But, on a beautiful, sunny summer day, there is no where I would rather be than on 96th street in Stone Harbor with my kids!

I have memories of being at the fudge store with my grandparents, and parents, and of all of them there with my kids, so in a very real sense with every purchase of fudge I am carrying on a family tradition.

I also love supporting a local business. It means so much to me that the small businesses stay open and continue to thrive. I have joked with my dad since I was a teenager that when I shop it’s good for the economy, but in this era of online shopping, I feel that it is more important than ever to patronize local stores. If we want these businesses to be there for the next generation, we must go to them now! Otherwise, with such stiff online competition, they will not stand a chance. So, when it came time to select a special treat for my clients, buying local was a priority.

The Holiday Spirit

How better to thank my clients and let them now how I feel about this special time of year then to give them a present fraught with meaning? When folks say “’Tis the Season” the words “Of Giving” or “for Thanks” immediately spring to mind. I am thankful for every single booking, bug and small. That is why I also take the time to send all clients and industry friends holiday cards as well. But I cherish the relationships I build as a small-business owner. I am not looking for one-offs, I look forward to working with clients over and over again, and I use this time of year to acknowledge how appreciative I am.

Building a voiceover business does not happen over night. It takes years of hard work and diligence. It requires a level of perseverance. It also requires an attitude of gratitude, because at the core of a sustainable voiceover business are these repeat relationships. I believe that clients come back for a reason, and I do not think that it is ever as simple as the voice on the other end of the mic or the equipment in my broadcast-ready studio. After years of working with clients all over the world, from video production companies, to advertising agencies, to talent agents, to instructional designers, it is essential to stand out. And if you want to know me and to know my brand I leave you with one final thought before Christmas: fudge helps.

Filed Under: About Me, Voiceover Tagged With: Fudge, Fudge Kitchen, full-time voiceover, grattitude, holiday gifts, Jersey Girl, New Jersey, small business owner, voiceover, working mom

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