As someone who craves adventure and loves exploring new places, I understand the burning desire to travel while maintaining a voice-over business. While voice-over artists may have a few extra pieces of the puzzle compared to other freelancers, it’s not impossible for us to embrace the nomadic work life. 

So let’s dive into prepping your voice-over business for an epic vacation!

Balancing Travel and Voice-Over Work

When I began the journey to become my own boss, one of my ultimate goals was to travel and work from anywhere in the world. However, I found myself scheduling my voice-over projects around my trips, often missing out on exciting opportunities. 

When I had to turn down several radio commercials during a trip in 2019 due to a lack of portable equipment, it was a major wake-up call. That money could have funded a few more days of vacation! I knew I had to find a way to record on the road so I could travel farther and wider in the future. 

Tips for Recording on the Go

Now that I have a portable vocal booth that fits within carry-on requirements and a reliable travel studio setup – shout out to VocalBoothtoGo.com – I can travel more since I don’t miss work and the paycheck it provides. This way, I never pass up a contract or disappoint a client. 

But it’s essential to be mindful of some pointers when recording on the go. 

Set the Stage

As a voice-over professional with a passion for travel, I’ve learned that meticulous planning is the key to a successful vacation. Months before my departure, I dive into a thorough assessment of my workload and commitments. It’s crucial to have a clear understanding of ongoing projects, impending deadlines, and potential new opportunities that may come my way. By doing so, I can strategically plan my vacation while ensuring that the quality of my services remains uncompromised.

Keep Clients in the Loop

When it comes to preparing for a vacation, maintaining open and transparent communication with my clients is paramount. I make it a point to inform my clients well in advance about my upcoming absence, providing them with detailed information about the dates I’ll be away. This proactive approach ensures a smooth transition and instills confidence in my clients that their projects will be well taken care of. By emphasizing the importance of early communication, I create a foundation of trust that strengthens client relationships in the long run.

Select and Set Up an On-the-Go Studio

Choosing the right recording space is vital for maintaining the quality of your voice-over work while on the move. Opt for a closet, preferably one that doesn’t share walls with the outside, or with a noisy bathroom. Alternatively, a garage, shed, or even a corner of a small room with carpeting can suffice. Consider any other activity in the space, such as travel companions or children, and plan your work hours accordingly. Make sure to strike a balance between your studio time and exploring the beautiful places you visit!

A Supportive Team for Remote Collaboration

As voice-over artists, we often find ourselves working alone in our individual booths, which can be isolating. That’s why it’s essential to cultivate a team that supports and collaborates with you. I sought out a few talented individuals early on, so I have assistance with social media, audio editing, quality control, copy editing, and video editing whenever needed. It doesn’t mean they’re available at the drop of a hat (they’ve got boundaries, too), but with a little planning, they can handle some of the work while I’m on the road. 

Seriously, though, it’s amazing that we can take our voice-over businesses around the globe. Invest in the right equipment. Choose your recording spaces with care. Build a supportive team. And balance work and exploration with ease. The magic of the internet allows us to collaborate from anywhere and everywhere, so let’s make the most of it. Pack your bags, grab your microphone, and let the world hear your voice while you explore its wonders. Bon voyage, my voice-over adventurer!

Caroline Turner Cole is a voice-over artist, writer, yogi, and coach based in Dallas, TX. Connect via Instagram @carolinecolestories. 

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Like most any other career, burnout can come for even the most enthusiastic of voice-over artists. Feeling overworked and exhausted, apathetic towards parts of your day that used to excite you, or even like you’ve hit a wall in terms of your own growth can happen to any actor. When you start to get that feeling of burnout creeping in, it’s important to stop and reassess your current work habits and think about how they can be improved. Most importantly, burnout calls for some self-care!
The things that tend to cause me burnout as a full-time voice-over actress are:

1. Long days/weeks of auditioning without booking anything.
2. Long-term audiobook or e-learning projects, especially when it’s a topic that doesn’t interest me at all!
3. Seeing other voice actors’ snowballing success on social media – especially when they’re younger than me! 
4. ACTUALLY burning up in the studio during the hot summer months.

My advice for any and all of these issues you might face is to take breaks! If you’re losing your love of voice acting, it’s probably just time to rest. Sometimes it can feel awkward or difficult to take vacations when you’re your own boss. Like with any office job, be sure to give yourself some vacation time! Try not to work seven days per week and enjoy  a holiday here and there so that you don’t feel that your entire life is spent in the confines of your home studio. 

On that note, when you are taking a break, do things you enjoy! Get out in nature or exercise, read, write, paint, or spend time with loved ones – but don’t spend it dwelling on past auditions or worrying about your next gig. Rejuvenate yourself in whatever way works best for you.

If you’re struggling with a long stint of auditioning or contacting potential clients without seeing much return, my advice would be to spend a bit of time practicing voice work that does excite you. 

Even if it’s just for yourself, sometimes a bit of professional development can help reinvigorate your confidence! For example, if you love animation – read some silly scripts that you enjoy and practice some new funky voices! That audio doesn’t need to be sent out anywhere, but it’s good practice for you and it’s FUN. For me, finding enjoyment in a script helps refresh me when I’ve spent weeks auditioning for projects that might be a little more boring. 

At the end of the day, you’ve got to fall in love with the act of auditioning in this type of career. But even if your auditions aren’t showing immediate returns, there’s still so much value in the habit of doing them. You’re practicing, expanding your abilities, discovering new facets of the industry and learning about how far you can flex your skills. It will pay off – be patient! 

If you are booked on a project like an audiobook or a lengthy e-learning, sometimes that content can start to burn you out. (I’m actually in this boat right now!). While I’m working on audiobooks that maybe aren’t something I’d normally choose to read, and I start to feel bored or exhausted with the repetition of being in the booth for hours a day, it’s important once again to take frequent breaks. I like to give myself small rewards – if I read through five chapters, I can take a 30 minute break for snacks and TV. It’s important to take breaks on these longer projects so that your voice stays fresh and full of energy! 

I also like to pick favorite characters in the books I’m reading. I’ll find a side character or two that I give a particularly funny or challenging voice to, and I’ll read the book feeling excited for that character to show up again. It really does help me bring life into what I’m reading! 

Social media can be EXHAUSTING. I love Twitter, for example – I keep up with a lot of my peers in the industry, follow other actors that inspire me, try interacting with casting directors and studios that tend to offer great advice online, and more. But sometimes I need to log off. Social media can start to feel like a winner’s circle. When I see my peers posting about huge new roles they’ve booked, sometimes I can start to feel down on myself. It’s important to remember that social media isn’t a good representation of real life. While it’s good to support and be happy for other actors, what I’m not seeing on Twitter is the amount of hours someone may have spent auditioning and getting rejections before finally catching a big break. 

If social media makes you feel burnt out or less successful than other actors, then it’s time to turn it off. Maybe even delete the app! Everyone in this career works at their own pace. Someone might only be jumping into this career in retirement – they shouldn’t compare themselves to a 30-something year old that’s been grinding out auditions for years. It doesn’t change my value as an actor if someone else is having their big break. Please remember this!

Sometimes burnout is a bit more literal! As we finally drop into Fall temperatures here in Boston, I realize how exhausting it was to record all summer. Those home studios can get toasty. That literal burnout can also lead to metaphorical burnout for me! I would dread going in to record every day knowing I’d be drenched in sweat by the first audition. Please drink lots of water, drape a cold wet washcloth over your shoulders, and maybe even bring in an ice pack to keep you (and your computer) cool!

If I haven’t said it enough, if you’re feeling burnout, your first action should be to take a break! Please take care of yourself, spend time doing things you love that reinvigorate you. Stay hydrated. And dedicate time to the parts of voice-over work that you love the most!

Check out our free PDF with pro-tips from real working voice-over actors here!

Want to learn more about voiceover? Signup for our introductory VO webinar.

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Today’s video comes to you from my favorite place to give myself a break – King Spa Dallas! 

Caroline Cole is a writer, voice over artist, and yogi based in Dallas, TX. Follow along on IG (@carolinecolestories) or Twitter (@ccolestories).

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Check out our free PDF with pro-tips from real working voice-over actors here!

Want to learn more about voiceover? Signup for our introductory VO webinar.

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Goal setting is like a drug. Great when prescribed correctly, dangerous if misused. That’s especially true for those of us who run our own business. And especially especially true for creatives. We tend to dream big, wild, impossible-seeming things which can yield some pretty fantastic results. OR, it can leave us depressed and burnt out when our reality continually falls short of the dreams we want to achieve. 

As with all things, it’s important to strike a balance. A balance between reality and magic. Between left and right brain. Between creativity and number crunching. And of course, between our hearts and our heads. 

If you’re like me, you started your voice-over business with a handful of rather vague goals. 

My original goals were:

• To have the freedom to keep my job while living (or traveling) anywhere
• To tell stories for a living
• To fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a cartoon character
• (…and connected to the above) to make money with silly voices
• To have control over my schedule
• To be in a job I love
• To redefine what it means to “make it” as a creative professional and artist

I’m happy to say I’ve done all of the above. *Cue: pats self on back in a way that is endearing and not at all pretentious*

There are a few things that led to my achieving these goals instead of dreaming about having a voice-over business and hoping it would just happen. 

Here’s what worked for me (and what, consequently, I recommend for others):

1. Write it down. It’s likely you’ve heard this advice before. That’s because it WORKS. Goals have a higher likelihood of coming true if they’re written down. You’re even more likely to achieve your goals if you pin them on a wall, refrigerator, or mirror where you’ll see them daily. 
2. Tell a friend. Don’t just tell anyone on the street. Tell a trusted friend, perhaps a partner, what you intend to achieve. Someone who will check in with you in a few months to see how it’s going. Someone who will encourage you when the going gets tough. 
3. Break it down. Starting with vague and lofty goals is great (like my examples above), but you’ll need to break down your goals into more quantifiable pieces in order to make them come true. For example, my goal of – to have the freedom to keep my job while living (or traveling) anywhere – meant that at some point I’d need to purchase equipment that can travel so I can record quality audio on the road. To achieve this goal, I saved money to buy a travel voice studio. (Here’s the kind I have.) 
4. Periodic evaluations. Every six months or so, schedule time on your calendar (Block off 2-3 hours) to evaluate where you are on your goal achievement journey. Are there any you can tick off? Any unexpected developments? Any goals you want to change or reword? Strategies you need to readjust? You’re allowed to change your mind! The universe may throw something unexpected your way and now you’re redirecting your attention – that’s ok! 
5. Make new goals. To keep forward motion in your business, set new goals as you cross old ones off. As you climb the mountain, you learn along the way. Set your sights on higher heights. Don’t get comfortable and rest on your laurels just because you can. Although FIRST, you deserve a celebration – congrats on achieving your original goals! 

No matter where you are in your voiceover business building journey, having a direction and a vision for what your business will become is not only helpful, but necessary. 

After all, it’s tough to go “confidently in the direction of” one’s dreams, as Thoreau encourages us to, if you’re not sure which direction you want to travel. 

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It seems a pretty likely assumption to say that we’ve all been on our own more than usual lately. Which, for a voice-over artist, is saying a lot! We’re used to being alone most days. Creating offers, submitting auditions, narrating audiobooks and recording commercials are all things we’re accustomed to doing all on our lonesome from our recording booths before uploading superb finished products to our clients all over the world. When it comes to this pandemic, we were more prepared than most to hunker down and work remotely for an extended period of time. 

But what about those other times, you know, when you used to get out of your house and see people in the flesh, hug their necks, and clink glasses together after a long work week? It’s another likely assumption to say you’re not getting to do much of that these days. And also, likely that we won’t get to for quite a while to come. However, that doesn’t mean you should drop off the face of the earth and stop connecting to others just because we can’t do it in person or like we used to. 

Today I dedicate this post to community – a few different categories of wonderful folks who are keeping me afloat these days. I invite you to reflect this week on these categories in your own life and how they may be positively impacting your current situation, wherever you are. 

If you’re looking for more practical tips on how and where to start creating a community for yourself, pop on over to this post from December where I give lots of pointers and ideas for places to start. 

Local Community

While most of us continue to be separated physically, there is still so much strength found within your local community, even if you’re connecting through a screen. 

My local arts community in Dallas has been amazingly supportive and creative throughout these past few months. It’s been incredible and inspiring to see how people have shifted gears to offer all types of connected artistic experiences now we’re temporarily not gathering publicly to perform.

Online Community

Second, our online community plays a huge part in not feeling alone and in keeping businesses afloat. Staying in touch with other voice over artists — and for me, copywriters too — has been a huge boost to my positivity and productivity. 

These people are the light in my Instagram, the bright spot on my Twitter. Their advice, vulnerability, kindness, and generosity have been invaluable to me this spring. It’s so inspiring to see others who aren’t content to succeed alone during this global pandemic but insist on reaching out a helping hand to guide others as well. 

To my online professional creative community, I say, “Keep saying yes to that second cup of coffee because the hustle never sleeps. But also, thanks for helping me put in boundaries to create a healthy work/life balance. You’re the best!”

Clients

And of course, we can’t forget the folks who keep the lights on. Last but not least: client-love. These are the amazing people who bring creatives to the table to complete their projects. They respect your work as a professional AND as an artist, and are willing to pay you fairly for your talent and time. Without them, we’re not able to continue to do what we love. 

Here’s to all our clients, but in particular to the clients who haven’t had to cancel their retainer agreements or put projects on hold during uncertain times. The ones who have fought to keep us on payroll and keep projects in production. They continue to provide us with financial stability and a paycheck in a creative field.

Thank you for your generosity, your patience when I haven’t responded as quickly as I would have normally, and for your kind feedback that allows us to continue to partner together and collaborate on some pretty interesting projects. I am so grateful to get to work as a creative entrepreneur because of people like you. 

Let me wrap up this unconventional “ode” with a few closing thoughts. I’m learning in this extended alone time to not take anything for granted and I invite you to do the same. 

So over the next few days, ask yourself these questions:

• Who’s keeping your spirits up during this pandemic? 
• Who is providing you with work that you didn’t expect and keeping your bank account full?
• Who’s supporting you locally even though you may be connected mostly through technology?
• What online groups or creative entrepreneurs do you follow that boost your mood and give you motivation to soldier on during the tough days?

Once you’ve created your list, write some of these folks a short note this week and send a little love. Let them know how much you appreciate them in your life. The people who encourage us and hustle us along deserve to know their influence, it may be the bright spark their day needs too. Trust me, you won’t regret it! 

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“I can predict the long-term outcome of your success if you show me your daily habits.” 

-John Maxwell

When I first started in voice-over, I did it as a part-time job on the side. I had a full-time job and kept busy outside of work, but was still able to build my voice-over career and eventually leave my full-time job to make voice-over my source of income. I did this by setting goals and creating daily habits.

Daily habits are beneficial because they become a routine and create consistent movement to keep the ball rolling towards your goals. Research shows that it takes 21 days to form a habit before it becomes a routine. Daily habits help with time-management, focus, and maintaining self-discipline. 

First, you want to determine what your goals are: what are you specifically looking to achieve? Are you looking to get more voice-over work in general? Is there a specific area of voice-over you’re looking to break into? Are you looking to get more auditions, or getting yourself out there more?

Also, determine the WHY behind your goal. Are you looking to break away from a full-time job and do voice-over full-time? Are you looking for financial freedom? Is there a specific voice-over area you know that you’ll enjoy and want more work in that area?

Write your goals down so you know your endgame. Once you know what you’re working towards, break it down into something small you can do each day that will help you get there. 

Make sure that your daily goals are attainable and something that you can do each and every day. Don’t set your goal at working for an hour a day or doing 10 auditions a day if this isn’t something you can do consistently. Set your goals small so that they are attainable and can fit into your schedule with no excuses not to do them. For example, you could plan to work 15 minutes a day on your voice-over tasks, or you could record three auditions or one audition. Just make sure it’s something that you’re able to complete even with the busiest of days. This will ensure that you won’t burn out and you can keep the momentum going. Alternatively,  let’s say your goal is 15 minutes a day, you always have the option to put in more time. It’s better to surpass your goals than fall short of them. 

You could even make a goal to do one thing a day to advance your career. I heard Joan Rivers in an interview once talk about how she would always do at least one thing a day to help her career and she would make sure she got it done before she went to bed at night. 

It can be helpful to set the same time every day to complete your daily habit. That way, you aren’t putting it off and it can become part of your routine. It could be the first thing you do in the morning, right when you get home from work, or right when the kids go to bed. 

Keeping a daily habit will help create a consistent momentum in your voice-over business and keep the ball rolling. You’ll be surprised at the big goals you can accomplish long term with small daily habits. 

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Last month I wrote a blog post outlining and unpacking a few tips I’ve learned from working as I travel, and this week I’m excited to take you along for the ride! Last fall, my local artists’ community (Arts Mission Oak Cliff – come on by if you’re in the Dallas area!) got really excited about the idea of an artists’ retreat somewhere here in Texas – a few days away from the hustle and bustle of the city, where we could hear the birds and watch gorgeous sunsets. 

And huzzah and hooray, we were able to make that dream a reality last weekend in the Texas Hill Country. Since I led yoga all weekend at the retreat, I wanted to arrive a few days early, sink into the rhythm of the space, relax and have my own “me time” before everyone arrived on Friday. Luckily, I didn’t even have to take a day off work to do so.

In this “Working Wednesday” I take you along for the first half of my week: On Monday, I pack up my studio and travel down south. Tuesday I hunt for Wi-Fi to take some meetings and clarify a few new projects with clients in the morning, then head out to explore some hiking trails at some nearby state parks before setting up my studio later in the afternoon, recording a project, turning it in and relaxing on the porch with my well-deserved glass of wine. Wednesday morning, I sleep in luxuriously, have breakfast on the porch and start my day with a local hike before heading in town to check emails, finish this project and continue working on some copywriting deliverables. 

While many gatherings and events were being canceled across the country to keep us all safe, I couldn’t help but remember how extremely fortunate I am to be able to work from home (or wherever) on my own schedule. What a wonderful job it is to be able to create things and collaborate with others while still staying healthy!

I hope you enjoy this sneak peek into my week. I’m all about being flexible with my work time, making sure I get everything done BUT ALSO remembering to enjoy wherever I get to be. 

Want some tips on setting up a home studio on the go? Check out this blog post for pointers!

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