Voiceover Career Catapult

So yes, I fell off the Omer wagon; I was going to do a blog post for that week's middah, but the last four weekends have all been very busy. What middot have passed? Gevurah (strength), Tiferet (beauty/compassion), Netzach (endurance), and tonight starts the fifth week which focuses on Hod (humility). I can work the first three into this post though, which is all about the VO Dojo's Career Catapult that I participated in over the first May weekend.

So what was the Career Catapult, or the Intensive, as they also call it? A virtual conference focusing on the business aspects of voiceover, like rates, manifestation, branding, and a bit of how to find work, most specifically in automotive and elearning. There were ten of us Zooming in from around the country, listening to an appreciably diverse range of speakers, diverse in their ages as well as ethnicities and backgrounds. It was well-curated and fun, and I made a few connections with other actors. I have a lot more confidence now that I'm on the right path towards making voiceover a full-time career, that I can actually do it. Like I've had this fear for awhile that everyone else has the answers, knows exactly where to go for marketing and networking, and somehow I'm alone and outside and not doing anything right. Turns out I'm not, though I need to lean on others more too.

Strength!

Gevurah - strength and discipline. It will take more discipline than ever for me to actually catapult my voiceover career. Right now I'm reading through The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, and doing her Morning Pages requires around 30 minutes. This means waking up earlier. Once I finish the 12 weeks of writing those, I hope to stay at the new wakeup time to do auditions in the morning, in addition to the ones I do at night. And speaking of night, I sometimes get lazy and decide not to do them, especially after already playing Dungeons and Dragons on Tuesday. But with the necessary discipline, I must continue to do at least one audition every day, even if it cuts into my 11pm "go to bed" cutoff time. Strength in general I need to keep up my confidence and belief in myself that my acting choices are valid.

Tiferet - compassion and beauty (it's hard to translate some Hebrew words). I really, really need to be more compassionate with myself! Almost everyone I know, friends and acquaintances, tells me I'm hard on myself. I don't always know what that means, because pushing myself is normal. But one thing I can do is what I stated above, just one audition instead of the five that I've set as my goal. On days where I'm truly busy, just one. And if I can't get that one, then be kind to myself. Also, I am building a business from the ground up; of course it's not perfect and busy right away!

Endurance through adverse conditions

Netzach - endurance. Everyone always says "it's about the consistency" when it comes to auditioning and a voiceover career. The people at the top making the big bucks have been in for 20-30 years, which makes sense! They've had a lot of time to make connections, continue getting work from repeat clients while getting new work from new people... they've been at this a long time. And auditioning is a numbers game, and you won't stack those numbers if you don't keep at it. So endurance is a no-brainer when it comes to any endeavor.

Where do I go from here? Keep up the emailing and LinkedIn connecting, perhaps move to a higher tier on one of the pay-to-plays, keep looking for regional and international agencies, change up branding or actually get a website designer, continue manifesting. I'm on the right path. Me being single (supporting myself while I pursue art) and not from a wealthy family (no cushion to fall back on) has a part to play in the slowness of my progression as well, so another point to be compassionate about. I'm doing my best, I really am, and this conference showed me that, plus easy ways to get better.