I always like to take a moment and reflect over the past year. Did we strive to do better this year? Yes. Were we successful? I believe so. Did we gain more clients and were they pleased with our services? I think so. Did we treat our client base with the same quality of service as they have become accustomed? Absolutely.

     Building a business and continuing to super-serve your client base and new clients is an important task to do year in and year out. But that also is what separates the men from the boys. Have you raised your rates to increase your bottom line? No, not really, due to the economic landscape. But we did increase our client base all the way around as a way to increase our stake in the market and continue to raise our monetary bar.

     The nature of our business is ever changing. Adaptability is the keyword in furthering ourselves. This topic came up during our Vincennes University Broadcasting Technology Advisory Board teleconference this past month. What is our industry expecting out of the students coming out of college today? Adaptability is so important since multi-tasking has become a way of life in radio, TV, advertising and media in general. You had better be prepared to know how to do more than just your chosen career expertise. Just think of the professors and department heads that need to be ahead of the curve and be ready to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of media. They certainly have their work cut out for them in order to stay ahead of the trends. Those of us out here in the industry have been asked what we see as to what to expect down the road. The answers are time sensitive. By the time colleges have re-tooled their curriculum’s, that previous trend may be over or moved into another lane on the “information super-highway.” Yeah, it may sound like a cop out, but it’s so true right now.

     I have found that due to the changing times, many more voice talents are reaching out to each other via Faffcon, Voices2008 & 2010 and other Voice Mixers. There was a time when we worked quietly in our own studios and kept our resources and tools close to our vest. I’d say those days are beginning to fade. With so many changes and the advent of working at home, instead of trekking across town to go to an audition, we have inadvertently closed ourselves into becoming voice hermits. Talent WANT to get out and socialize and share info and learn what’s up & coming in a whole new world. And that’s a good thing.

     2010 will go down as a transitional year… an adaptability year… a re-thinking of priorities year. Yes, I think in retrospect, we are growing in the right direction. It’s just that the learning curve continues to thrive.

     BTW…we are registered to go to FaffCon2 this February in Atlanta. You just can’t ever stop learning.

     This question has come up countless times and will continue as long as there are divisions in left & right, black & white and up & down. Everyone is responsible for making their own decision if they will voice one ad and not another. There is no one right answer.

     Actually…. it’s a matter of personal judgment. Nothing more – nothing less.

     I’ve voiced jobs for car dealers, restaurants and hardware stores that I don’t drive, eat or use their products. However, if something is handed to me that I do not feel I can put my heart into it honestly, I simply say, I cannot do that or possibly find someone I know who has no problem with it. That keeps it in “our” ranks, and someone still makes a buck.

     If you prefer to voice only Republican or Democrat political spots, that also is your prerogative, and no one should look down their noses at you or anyone else. I find that and other morally defined objections to be worthy of your own personal selection. If you’ll do either, without a worry, I say more power to you. If not, that’s your business and no one else’s. Stick to your convictions.

     As an independent voice actor, I have the freedom to choose how I select my work and I’ll stand by that….as will my wallet, whether I can afford it or not.

What will you do when your studio computer goes DOWN?

     It’s not a matter of “if” it goes down, it WILL, when you least expect it. I replaced my Mac G4 and Pro Tools 001 over 2 years ago and moved up to a loaded Mac Pro and Pro Tools 003. It has worked great…UNTIL yesterday afternoon without warning.

     My screens became frozen, and an error message came up on my right monitor saying, “Error – Please reset your computer by pressing your Power Button for a few seconds to restart your computer.” It was also written in Spanish, French and Japanese. So, I did as instructed and nothing. The screen lite up with some strange squiggly lines on the monitor, the Apple logo appeared, and the little timer swirl began to tick underneath the logo. Then a black curtain came down and the error message appeared. I tried unplugging the Mac and waiting, then rebooting. Everything. Same results.

     So, a call to my IT guy was made. He dropped what he was doing and came to my rescue. After going over what I had done and trying several switches this with that and blow out the dust bunnies – off I went to the Mac Store. The were very polite and helpful, but suggested I go to an independent Mac repair shop a few miles away.

     They expedited the diagnostics the next morning, found out it WAS the video card and ordered a replacement to be overnighted to them and installed the next day. Hopefully, all will go well, and I’ll be back up by mid-afternoon tomorrow.

     Here’s the rub…if you don’t have a standby plan ready to be put into effect – you are hosed with all the clients that need you NOW. So as a precautionary Plan B, I’ll be putting together a laptop with all I need to keep my foot in my studio from slamming shut and putting me out of business. Now, I know I could have probably found a fellow VO talent who would help me in a pinch, but we as independent talents really need to be prepared for these potential outages.

     So, what is your PLAN B?

     Add some sales “zing” to describe your product or sales offer. These words have been selected from sales ads that have shown success!  (It’s ok to steal…. I won’t tell)

Absolutely…Amazing…Approved… Attractive… Bargain… Beautiful… Better… Big… Colorful… Colossal… Complete… Confidential… Crammed… Delivered… Direct… Discount… Easily… Endorsed… Enormous… Excellent… Exciting… Exclusive… Expert… Famous… Fascinating… Fortune… Full… Genuine… Gift… Gigantic…Greatest… Guaranteed… Helpful… Highest… Huge… Immediately… Improved… Informative… Informative… Instructive… Interesting… Largest… Latest… Lavishly… Liberal… Lifetime… Limited… Lowest… Magic… Mammoth… Miracle… Noted… Odd… Outstanding… Personalized… Popular… Powerful… Practical… Professional… Profitable… Profusely… Proven… Quality… Quickly… Rare… Reduced… Refundable… Remarkable… Reliable… Revealing… Revolutionary… Scarce… Secrets… Security… Selected… Sensational… Simplified… Sizeable… Special… Startling… Strange… Strong… Sturdy… Successful… Superior… Surprise… Terrific… Tested… Tremendous… Unconditional… Unique!… Unlimited… Unparalleled… Unsurpassed… Unusual… Useful… Valuable… Wealth… Weird… Wonderful.

     Use alone or combined with other descriptive words in your ads.