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Twin Mom

VO Business Year in Review

December 13, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

Reflections on 2021

It’s somewhat hard to believe it’s now December. Somehow the last few months have blown by in a busy whirl. For me, as a working mom of twins who happen to be high school seniors, this fall was extremely busy. With the New Year fast approaching, I am starting to reflect on 2021: what I’m proud of and what I might have done differently. The year is not over yet, and I plan to use the rest of the month to end strong.

Thoughts on My Business

I like to think a lot about where my business came from. The clients who came directly to me, not through a pay to play or an agent, were up 44% from last year. Repeat clients makeup 2/3 of my business. Clients from my website were up 136% compared to 2020, so I was very pleased with that number.

I also grew my coaching and demo production business substantially this year, and it made up about 3.5% of my annual income thus far. I was pleased with that.

My pay to play numbers were down. While I did have some stellar bookings on CastVoices that I am pleased with as that site is just starting, my bookings on Voice123 with new clients were down more that 30% from 2020. While I continue to submit, I find this quite frustrating. One major goal is to surpass my 2020 numbers in 2022.

Reflections on Equipment and Gear

I made some sound equipment upgrades this year that I am very pleased with. Dave and I added the Presonus to direct clients when they come in for demo sessions. I got a fantastic new desk setup for outside of my studio space. I am really happy with this. I added the EVO4 preamp to my travel rig. I also finally got to use my new rig that I invested in before my trip. That has been fantastic for me. Most recently, I upgraded my laptop that I use daily when outside the booth. My original one was from 2015, and it simply died. I am so happy to have a new, fast, working device.

Marketing Thoughts

I have a lot of thoughts about my marketing efforts. This is the one area I put so much time and on-going effort, every, single day. I updated my headshots. I kind of felt that the photos should actually look how I look, and if I looked in the mirror and looked nothing like the gal in the photo it was probably time to change!  My website was then updated with the new photos. My website was not only updated superficially, but it got an update from the inside out, as it also now meets the requirements for Google Core Values. That update actually just happened, and I hope that clients now have an even easier time finding me. I continue to reach out to clients and industry friends with my monthly newsletter. After so many years, I am finally feeling more comfortable with mail chimp and have improved the format. I have also gotten a lot better with Canva this year and use their template consistently for my instagram posts. I have tried to be very much on top of my social media posts in 2021 and have grown a much larger following. I have also continued to blog at least once a week, and sometimes twice a week. I am proud that I have maintained my efforts with my blog.

I do feel that since August I have not been as on top of my direct emails. I feel that as I got busier with my twins, I became too relaxed and did not follow up as I typically do, especially in two main areas: with repeat clients and with my radio imaging outreach. When I sit and do it I regret that I dropped the ball a little.

Let’s end the year strong!

The year is not over! The next week and a half until Christmas can be a strong one! All marketing an be done with gusto. All auditions can be awesome. All booked work can be submitted with extra effort to make clients feel appreciated. Every single day matters, and each booking counts. As I reflect back on the year, I am so thankful for another year to pursue my dreams, and another year to work in the field I love. With the SOVAS this weekend, I am so excited to spend the last Sunday before the holidays surrounded by so many industry friends who are flying in from all over. Sometimes I say “there are no words” but for this weekend there are many words, and they are words of reflection and gratitude.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: als, bookings, CastVoices, coaching business, consistency, desk, gear, Google Core Values, headshots, Home Studio, mail chimp, new clients, newsletter, pay to plays, prosonus, reflections, Repeat Clients, small business, Twin Mom, VO, voice over, voice over business, voice over coaching, Voice123, voiceover, website, working mom, workspace

It Only Takes One Hour To Be Entirely Re-Inspired

July 17, 2021 by Laura Schreiber

As A Working Mom Sometimes My Attentions are Divided

Often, I am mono-focused on my voice over business. As a full-time, professional talent, this laser focus is what has helped me to build my business and lay a strong foundation. I’ve missed lunches with friends and sat inside on weekends Collage of College visits and Laura Schreiber in her boothworking while my family is outside enjoying a beautiful day together. I never feel like I am missing out because I have very specific goals and I am on a mission. Often having fun and reaching one’s goals are mutually exclusive. That brings me to my current conflict, I am a mom of twins, and my twins are rising seniors in high school. College visits are not only an essential part of the admissions process, but my twins have unique interests, so they are looking at entirely different schools. At the moment, all of my values as a parent and goals as a solopreneur are being put to the test: am I steady enough to juggle everything and be there for my kids while continuing to fuel my business? I have felt tremendous pressure, and been having a constant mental struggle, until our weekly Clubhouse today.

College Visits Taking Me Away From My Work Routine

First let me explain why the college visits are a challenge for me. It’s not that I am a helicopter parent and can’t let my kids go it alone. My husband is an attorney and runs his part of his practice. It is not easy for him to miss work either. If you have not dealt with college admissions recently, the kids now, in addition to grades and test scores, get something called a “demonstrated interest” score, so they basically have to visit schools they are applying to as part of this to show their interest to the admissions committee. As a voice talent, I have always marketed myself as having super fast turnarounds and being in the booth all the time. This week, and for a lot of this month, that is frankly not the case. My day to day routine of auditions, booked work, and marketing is different as we are doing these college visits.  I am not good with change and this change in routine is freaking me out. While I am thankful to have this time with my twins, and while I am trying to enjoy seeing all of these amazing schools, I am stressed about this deviation from my routine. I worry that all that I have worked to build is being undermined. I have felt like this all summer.

Clutter Building Up

Collage of Laura Schreiber's studio, Michelle Blenker's, and Diana Bidsall's
Every week I look out at the pristine work spaces of Michelle Blenker (top left) and Diana Birdsall (bottom left) while I continue to struggle in mu cluttered zone outside my booth.

While we are traveling about, my house feels less tidy too. Like many, love HGTV. I have been noticing when I watch my beloved programs my own house is looking more and more cluttered. As my time is more divided than usual between work and the twins, my house is taking a back seat. It is terrible. I have also noticed when I zoom with my accountability partners, others seem to have their act more together. Whether they are other working moms or just busy voice actors and coaches, their desk does not look like it is under siege and looks like a space someone would actually enjoy working. So this week in addition to being stressed about my schedule, I was feeling rather down about my lack of organization as well.

The Hour That Changed Everything

On Thursday Diana Birdsall and I did the one hour Clubhouse with the creative genius Jonathan Tilley. Years ago, I think in 2015 or 2016 I took his fantastic marketing class for creatives called League of List Builders. This Clubhouse with Laura Schreiber, Diana Birdsall, and Jonathan Tilleyis an on-going course that you can still take! Since then, I have followed Jonathan and continued to learn from him regularly on social media. I went to school for Political Science and History, so there was a major gap in my marketing knowledge. I studied with Jonathan to fill said gap. Anyway, the Clubhouse is meant to help others in the community, but this one hour with Jonathan left me feeling so re-inspired. It reminded me  of how far I’ve come and how much I have learned. It refocused my attention.  I have built something amazing. It also made me feel filled with new goals that I am super excited to pursue. I guess our time with Jonathan was just what I needed to bring the joy back.  I was left feeling like I have focus again and that if I just allow myself time to breathe and re-center, I will be back on track.

It is quite extraordinary how one hour with the right people can totally shift your perspective, turn everything on its axis. This is not just about the power of positivity, but that is part of it. In voiceover, it is really important to know who to take advice from. There are A LOT of people with microphones out there. That does not mean that everyone talking should be listened to. But when one hour can give you so much solid information and direction, those are the people you should be listening to!  If you happened to miss our Clubhouse, stay tuned for my next blog on the beauty of VO Marketing that will summarize our chat with Jonathan.

Filed Under: About Me, Marketing/Branding, Voiceover, working mom Tagged With: Clutter, College Search, College visits, focus, HGTV, inspiration, Jonathan Tilley, League of List Builders, passion, power of positivity, professional voice over actor, Twin Mom, VO, voice over, voice over coach, voice talent, voiceover, working mom, working mom life

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