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	<title>VO Tips &#187; Getting Jobs</title>
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	<description>Michael tells his secrets of voice over success!</description>
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		<title>Think it Through, It&#8217;s Good For You</title>
		<link>http://www.votips.com/think-it-through-its-good-for-you/</link>
		<comments>http://www.votips.com/think-it-through-its-good-for-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:42:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meflowers331</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Getting Jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Practice Strategies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[concentration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[head]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[imagination]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meditation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mind]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[performance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[practice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[process]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[thought]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.voiceofmichael.com/blog/?p=232</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.votips.com/five-ps-of-voice-over-success-practice/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Practice'>Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Practice</a> <small>...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.votips.com/what-happens-when-it-doesnt-happen-pt-1/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: What Happens When It Doesn&#8217;t Happen? Pt. 1'>What Happens When It Doesn&#8217;t Happen? Pt. 1</a> <small>...</small></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>What do you think of when you hear the word meditation?</p>
<p>Most people think of monks high on a mountain somewhere high in the Himalayan mountains sitting around on mats with their legs crossed.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s not where I&#8217;m going. Meditation is simply deep thought. It&#8217;s actually something I practice quite often.</p>
<p>Let me explain&#8230;</p>
<p><span id="more-232"></span><br />
There&#8217;s a common phrase &#8220;Think before you speak&#8221; and that&#8217;s what I am advocating&#8230; sort of.</p>
<p>When you get behind the mic (those of you who don&#8217;t have a lot of experience) what happens? Do you feel a tightness in your chest? Does your heart beat faster? Do your palms start to sweat and your mouth dry out? Why is that? There is another common statement that says &#8220;We fear what we do not understand&#8221;. I put it this way, &#8220;We fear what we do not know.&#8221; </p>
<p>There&#8217;s one obvious way around that: get more experience. This is hard to do unless you&#8217;re landing gigs. If you&#8217;re not landing gigs because you don&#8217;t have experience, there&#8217;s no hope, right? Not quite.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s a way around that and it&#8217;s pretty easy, but it requires concentration and imagination. One way I prepare myself to get behind the mic without ever powering up the studio is run through the process of an audition or recording in my mind. Yes, meditation. It works wonders.</p>
<p>I know it may sound weird, but if you run through the scenario (any scenario, not just voice over stuff) enough in your head, it will become second nature when you&#8217;re actually in that scenario at a later time. </p>
<p>For instance, I close my eyes and I envision myself holding the script in my hand, sitting on a stool behind a microphone. I feel the headphones on my ears and hear my voice when I speak into the mic. I look behind the mic and there is a large glass window, behind which sit a producer and an audio engineer. The producer gives me instructions and I hear them in my headphones. I do what I am told to do. I read the script and time slows down&#8230; you get the idea.</p>
<p>Go into as much detail as you possibly can. It helps some people to imagine themselves in third person, kind of like watching yourself do everything. </p>
<p>To go through a complete session only takes about five minutes or less. Using your imagination, put yourself in as many different recording environments as you can possibly imagine. Change the wall coverings, change the mics, whether you can see the producer or not, sitting, standing, etc. The more situations you run through in your mind over and over again, the more prepared and calm you&#8217;ll be when it comes time for an audition or recording session.</p>
<p>This exercise can be included in your warm up. Your voice, lips, mouth, and tongue aren&#8217;t the only things that need a good warm up, you know.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t do this when you&#8217;re tired. Closing your eyes when you&#8217;re tired can only lead to one thing. Sleep. Get up, move around, and do some jumping jacks to get your heart rate up, then start the brain up. It will be easy from there on out.</p>
<p>Meditation takes a lot of practice to stay focused, but it helps keep you centered and helps you prepare. I recommend it, not only for voice over artists before auditions and recording sessions, but for every kind of performer before any performance of any kind!</p>
<p>May your mind be focused and your thoughts clear, young grasshopper.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.votips.com/five-ps-of-voice-over-success-practice/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Practice'>Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Practice</a> <small>Going off of the last post, People. If you have...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.votips.com/what-happens-when-it-doesnt-happen-pt-1/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: What Happens When It Doesn&#8217;t Happen? Pt. 1'>What Happens When It Doesn&#8217;t Happen? Pt. 1</a> <small>What do you do when you get behind the mic...</small></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Figure Out Your Hourly Rate (and email subscription fixed)</title>
		<link>http://www.votips.com/your-hourly-rate/</link>
		<comments>http://www.votips.com/your-hourly-rate/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2009 04:33:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meflowers331</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Client Relations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Getting Jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freelance hourly rate]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hourly rate for freelance work]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[how much to charge for freelance work]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rate calculator]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[setting voice over rates]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.voiceofmichael.com/blog/?p=166</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Another awesome resource on the web for any freelancer, not just voice talent: The Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator This should help you figure out what to charge per hour to make ends meet. Keep in mind though, as a voice talent, you will work less than most other types of freelancers out there, unless you [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.votips.com/five-ps-of-voice-over-success-price/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Price'>Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Price</a> <small>Taking another drink of Metamucil, I feel myself aging as...</small></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Another awesome resource on the web for any freelancer, not just voice talent:</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/" target="_blank">The Freelance Hourly Rate Calculator</a></p>
<p>This should help you figure out what to charge per hour to make ends meet. Keep in mind though, as a voice talent, you will work less than most other types of freelancers out there, unless you have more to offer your clients (script writing, audio editing, etc.) You also don&#8217;t want to charge more than you&#8217;re worth. Don&#8217;t worry, clients will be the first to tell you if your rate is too high, but by then it already be too late.</p>
<p>The more you offer, the more you get paid (that is, if you&#8217;re jack or jill of all trades and also master of all of them). This is true with your voice as well. If you have a very bland and uninteresting voice (which sometimes is called for) you probably won&#8217;t get called again. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.voiceofmichael.com/blog/?p=144" target="_blank">Practice</a> and you won&#8217;t have to worry about it.</p>
<p>Ok, post complete. If you&#8217;ve tried to subscribe by email in the past, it was broken (since the introduction of the new theme). Now it&#8217;s fixed! Subscribe by email and get new posts right in your email inbox!</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.votips.com/five-ps-of-voice-over-success-price/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Price'>Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Price</a> <small>Taking another drink of Metamucil, I feel myself aging as...</small></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>BONUS HOLIDAY POST: An Extra P for Voice Over Success</title>
		<link>http://www.votips.com/bonus-holiday-post-an-extra-p-for-voice-over-success/</link>
		<comments>http://www.votips.com/bonus-holiday-post-an-extra-p-for-voice-over-success/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:13:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meflowers331</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Getting Jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Internet Favorites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Website]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[do I need paypal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paypal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[setting up paypal account]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[taking credit card payments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[voice over]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.voiceofmichael.com/blog/?p=60</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s another P for voice over success. Not one of the top 5, but definitely a thing that everyone who does internet business should have: Paypal. Paypal is a service that allows you to send and receive payment without sharing your financial information with anyone. I use it on my website to take payment from [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.votips.com/five-ps-of-voice-over-success-price/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Price'>Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Price</a> <small>Taking another drink of Metamucil, I feel myself aging as...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.votips.com/five-ps-of-voiceover-success-patience/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Five P&#8217;s of Voiceover Success: Patience'>Five P&#8217;s of Voiceover Success: Patience</a> <small>Patience is a virtue, as it turns out, it&#8217;s also...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.votips.com/8-freelance-startup-entry-plans/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: 8 Freelance Startup Entry Plans'>8 Freelance Startup Entry Plans</a> <small>Here&#8217;s an amazing article from the Freelance gurus at Freelance...</small></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here&#8217;s another P for voice over success. Not one of the top 5, but definitely a thing that everyone who does internet business should have:</p>
<p>Paypal.</p>
<p>Paypal is a service that allows you to send and receive payment without sharing your financial information with anyone. I use it on my website to take payment from clients. (See the bottom of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.voiceofmichael.com" target="_blank">www.voiceofmichael.com</a>). Since I am a business member of paypal, I can take credit card payments as well. There are different levels of paypal for different users, check it out and see what level of service is best for you.</p>
<p>Since every voice over person I know does work remotely (and sometimes never even meets their clients face to face), how do you expect them to pay you? If you&#8217;re waiting on a check in the mail, there&#8217;s a good chance it might not show up. Cash by mail? Forget it! Western Union? That&#8217;s getting desperate. You need <a target="_blank" href="http://www.paypal.com" target="_blank">Paypal</a> so you can make money on the internet. It&#8217;s very secure, probably one of the most secure sites on the net. Go to their site and sign up right now!</p>
<p>There are other payment services on the net, but I can&#8217;t remember them off the top of my head. Share other payment services you use in the comments.</p>
<p>Hope all of you had a happy holidays, I know I did. Be looking for the next post soon! Subscribe to my feed at the top of the page to get my posts delivered to your mailbox instantly.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.votips.com/five-ps-of-voice-over-success-price/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Price'>Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Price</a> <small>Taking another drink of Metamucil, I feel myself aging as...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.votips.com/five-ps-of-voiceover-success-patience/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Five P&#8217;s of Voiceover Success: Patience'>Five P&#8217;s of Voiceover Success: Patience</a> <small>Patience is a virtue, as it turns out, it&#8217;s also...</small></li>
<li><a href='http://www.votips.com/8-freelance-startup-entry-plans/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: 8 Freelance Startup Entry Plans'>8 Freelance Startup Entry Plans</a> <small>Here&#8217;s an amazing article from the Freelance gurus at Freelance...</small></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success: Price</title>
		<link>http://www.votips.com/five-ps-of-voice-over-success-price/</link>
		<comments>http://www.votips.com/five-ps-of-voice-over-success-price/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:09:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meflowers331</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Getting Jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Networking]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charging for voice over]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[voice over pricing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[voice over rates]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.voiceofmichael.com/blog/?p=51</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Taking another drink of Metamucil, I feel myself aging as I type this, but I love the gameshow The Price is Right. There&#8217;s just something about people trying to guess what two new pairs of skis cost that really entertains me. Have you ever actually been on the other end, though? I imagine it&#8217;s pretty [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Taking another drink of Metamucil, I feel myself aging as I type this, but I <em>love</em> the gameshow <a target="_blank" href="http://www.priceisrightbingo.com">The Price is Right</a>. There&#8217;s just something about people trying to guess what two new pairs of skis cost that really entertains me.</p>
<p>Have you ever actually been on the other end, though? I imagine it&#8217;s pretty suspenseful and almost impossible to think while in the limelight under time constraints&#8230; wait a tick&#8230; something about this sounds <em>very</em> familiar.</p>
<p>Well, if you&#8217;ve played the <em>voice over</em> game before, you&#8217;ve played The Price is Right. As a matter of fact, you&#8217;ve been involved in every aspect of the game.</p>
<p><span id="more-51"></span></p>
<p>You juggle a lot of hats when you&#8217;re a self-represented voice person. One of those hats that is often dropped is price. Naming the right price can be incredibly difficult. In the heat of the moment it can be quite difficult to decide on a price to quote. Will the quote be too high? These are just a few of the questions that run through the mind when the question of cost arises.</p>
<p>So, what&#8217;s your answer? A matter of seconds is often all the time you have to think when a prospective client calls, wants to know your price, and they don&#8217;t want to wait. The people who are hiring you for voice work often have many things to do and they usually want to hire someone quickly and for the best price possible.</p>
<p>So, the best thing to do is have a list of your prices with you everywhere you go. I keep all of my rates in my phone. Granted, I&#8217;ve got one of those fancy computer phones that can make spreadsheets and really nifty stuff, but a lot of phones can at least hold plain text notes: just enough to have your rates listed. You carry your phone with you everywhere (to answer those constant calls from clients for more work) so why not have it hold your valuable information as well? If you can&#8217;t store that information in your phone or don&#8217;t know how, print out a small rate overview card from your computer and keep it in your wallet.</p>
<p>So, now that you know where to keep your rates, how should you set your rates to be both attractive (to yourself and prospective clients) and competitive at the same time?</p>
<p>I think the key is two words: know thyself.</p>
<p>You should know how much time and effort it will take you to complete a 30 second radio commercial as well as a 300 page audio book. You know how long it took to make your demos (you should have demos and you should know how long they took to make if you had a hand in the process). So the main question is &#8220;how much is your time worth?&#8221;. You really have to answer this question for yourself based on a few factors:</p>
<p>1) How much experience do you have? More experienced vo people can charge more because they are more skilled. If you have no experience, skip the rest of the steps.</p>
<p>2) Do you run your own studio? If yes, keep in mind the initial and recurring costs as well as some profit. If no, you have to at least recoup the amount you&#8217;re being charged to record, plus the gas and time it took to drive there, and then add a double dose of profit.</p>
<p>3) Are you going to edit the material yourself? If you are, keep in mind the amount of work that will take and the time that the editing will take to complete. You&#8217;ll want to figure that into the cost as well.</p>
<p>4) How will the client want the project delivered? If they want it by e-mail or FTP, no big deal, but if they want an overnight cd, keep in mind how much that costs, because it&#8217;s not cheap. You&#8217;ll want the client to pay for that, so make sure to tell them that in the quote. Find out if they want that first thing. If, by chance, they want it recorded through ISDN, you&#8217;ll need to book a studio that has that capability and make sure to figure in the cost (as in point 2).</p>
<p>So, now that you&#8217;ve considered most of the things you need to charge for (if you&#8217;re and experienced talent), a note for the less experienced: you won&#8217;t be able to charge much, if anything for your services. I&#8217;m not saying do everything for free, that is a HUGE mistake that can lead you down a dark, dark path. You just may not be able to charge what you want for a while. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you won&#8217;t be making what a professional will make for a while.</p>
<p>As far as charging goes, as in the actual price, what you need to do is think long and hard about your rates before you get asked by a client what your rate will be. While you&#8217;re doing free stuff, think in the back of your head &#8220;this is what I would want to charge for this&#8221;. Write it down if you have to. Once you&#8217;ve gotten an idea of how much you should charge for something, it&#8217;s time to start charging.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t start of charging union rates, you&#8217;ll never book a gig. The only people willing to pay union rates are auditions that your agent sends you to. Most of you (including myself) won&#8217;t have to worry about that for a while.</p>
<p>The only reason I would look at union (SAG/AFTRA) rates is to get an idea of what kind of work is more expensive than the other. Or, you could take the rates and divide them <em>at least</em> by 3 if not more. This might be a good starting place if you are totally clueless about what to charge.</p>
<p>Always keep the client&#8217;s budget in mind as well. Sometimes you may not know it and you may have to guess. In that case, aim low and the client won&#8217;t be disappointed.</p>
<p>Good luck naming your price! Sorry this post took so long to get out, I wanted to make sure I wrote down everything I wanted to talk about.</p>
<p>More to come next time in part four of The Five P&#8217;s of Voice Over Success. Subscribe to the RSS feed above to have the article delivered to your e-mail inbox.</p>


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		<title>Don&#8217;t Be Lazy!</title>
		<link>http://www.votips.com/dont-be-lazy/</link>
		<comments>http://www.votips.com/dont-be-lazy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 May 2008 13:34:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meflowers331</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Getting Jobs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.voiceofmichael.com/blog/?p=24</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A lot (and I do mean almost everyone I meet) thinks that being a voice over artist is an easy life. Granted, it&#8217;s easier than a 9-5, but by no means is it a complete cakewalk. Everyone thinks that all you do is sit in front of a microphone and read stuff. Not true! How [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A lot (and I do mean almost everyone I meet) thinks that being a voice over artist is an easy life. Granted, it&#8217;s easier than a 9-5, but by no means is it a complete cakewalk. Everyone thinks that all you do is sit in front of a microphone and read stuff. Not true!</p>
<p><span id="more-24"></span></p>
<p>How do you go about getting work? Well, first of all, you have to have demos. You have to spend time finding quality copy. Then, you (or someone you hire) have to spend time recording it, editing it, producing it, and distributing it before work even has the possibility of showing up.</p>
<p>You also must, like with any other job dealing with clients, do exactly that, deal with clients! Some clients are GREAT, others are not. Some want all of your time and some don&#8217;t want to give you enough detail as to what they want.</p>
<p>People misconstrue what a voice over artist does, and I know that contributes to my desire to be lazy. People think I have it easy and therefore, <em>I </em>start to think I have it easy. I procrastinate, and put off work, procrastinate, and then I get SO far behind it&#8217;s impossible to catch up.</p>
<p>The best way to prevent laziness is to ALWAYS BE DOING SOMETHING! Now, granted, I am a big proponent of taking breaks, but you can&#8217;t finish what you don&#8217;t start. Take some time today and make a list of things you&#8217;ve started in the past month that you would like to finish in 30 days. Make an action plan and get it done. There is no better feeling than a sense of accomplishment.</p>
<p>Also, don&#8217;t be lazy when you&#8217;re behind the mic. If you think you could read something better, do it again. You will make yourself look better and your client (more than likely) will appreciate the extra effort. Return business is the best business. Without repeat clients, you eventually struggle to find work. It happens to everyone, sometimes it&#8217;s caused by laziness. Don&#8217;t let it happen to you!</p>
<p>Lastly, I want to apologize to my readers for my lack of recent updates. I am getting married in less than a month and a half and I am preparing for a HUGE move. Pardon my slight lack of attention to this blog as I get my life ready for a big change. Once I move, the updates will flow more and more readily because I will have more time for blogging. Thanks for your understanding!</p>


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		<title>8 Freelance Startup Entry Plans</title>
		<link>http://www.votips.com/8-freelance-startup-entry-plans/</link>
		<comments>http://www.votips.com/8-freelance-startup-entry-plans/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:12:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meflowers331</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Here&#8217;s an amazing article from the Freelance gurus at Freelance Sprout. This article talks about plans to make freelancing practical. I currently follow plan #2. It works GREAT! &#8220;Many of us (most of us?) had a dream to start a business and, at some point, realized the dilemma of balancing a full-time job with home [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.votips.com/let-it-go-pt-1/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Let It Go!! Pt. 1'>Let It Go!! Pt. 1</a> <small>This will be a follow up post to one I...</small></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here&#8217;s an amazing article from the Freelance gurus at <a target="_blank" href="http://freelancesprout.com" target="_blank">Freelance Sprout</a>. This article talks about plans to make freelancing practical. I currently follow plan #2. It works GREAT!</p>
<p>&#8220;Many of us (most of us?) had a dream to start a business and, at some point, realized the dilemma of balancing a full-time job with home life and a startup life. I don’t think there’s ever a true balance. A tolerable balance but not a comfortable balance.</p>
<p>Most freelance businesses don’t require a heavy equipment investment. Marketing and living expenses will eat most of a freelancer’s budget.</p>
<p>Unless you have a few months of clients lined up, or you’re independently wealthy, you’ll need a plan to support yourself until you can freelance full-time.</p>
<p>The following are eight freelance entry plans…<span id="more-21"></span></p>
<p><strong>1. The Moonlighter</strong></p>
<p>This is the plan that comes to mind most often when people think of starting a business. It involves doing client work in the evenings and on weekends to make way for a full-time job.</p>
<p>Good cell phone service is a must. I have a friend who actually brought his own laptop and wireless air card to work so he could answer client emails during lunch and other breaks. He actually became more productive in his regular job because he stayed at his desk most of the day.</p>
<p>If you have banked vacation or sick days, take a few days off each month to complete larger projects. Being deliberate but flexible with your time off will help you succeed much faster.</p>
<p><strong>2. The Part Timer</strong></p>
<p>This plan is different in that the freelancer takes a part-time job while working the business in the mornings or afternoons.</p>
<p>If you’re super efficient, you might be able to setup an arrangement with your employer to work part-time a few days each week. Once your boss sees that you can still get your work completed without glitches, you might be able to go part-time…full-time.</p>
<p><strong>3. The Employee to Contractor Plan</strong></p>
<p>If you love what you do, but you’d rather do it as a freelancer, you might be able to turn your full-time job into a contracting position—taking your employer as your first customer.</p>
<p>If you’re trying to make a case for saving your employer money, try dropping what I call the “non benefit, benefits”. For instance, my previous, and last, employer had a magnificent profit sharing/retirement plan.</p>
<p>The catch? I had to work a minimum of seven years to receive any actual monetary compensation. Was it a benefit? Yes. Was it something benefiting me at the moment? No. So, it was no love lost on my end. But my employer saw it as a huge money saver in the long run.</p>
<p><strong>4. The Cash Plan</strong></p>
<p>Attention all penny pinchers and budgeteers. If you have the discipline to save all your profits, and look for ways to save within your salary, you can amass a nice cushion to live off when you quit to go full-time.</p>
<p>Once you have the money saved, you can focus on getting a customer backlog a month or two deep. If your business takes off, you won’t feel pressured to stay at your job. Your bank account will give you the confidence to put in your notice.</p>
<p><strong>5. The Spouse Plan</strong></p>
<p>This is a popular option for two income couples, especially if one spouse can produce enough income to cover all monthly expenses.</p>
<p>One way to make this work is to pay off all consumer debt (credit cards) and car loans. When one debt is paid off, rollover the payment to the next debt. With each card, or car, paid off, you get an instant raise.</p>
<p>When the first spouse’s business starts going strong, the other spouse has the option to quit and start a business too.</p>
<p><strong>6. The Temp Plan</strong></p>
<p>Using local temporary employment agencies is another avenue to working while building your business.</p>
<p>This type of arrangement could be a catch-22 if the temp work becomes full-time for a long period. Most temporary agencies will give you enough flexibility to work on freelance stuff.</p>
<p>The other benefit is that you can quit anytime. Since you won’t be attached to any single employer, you’ll be ready to bail at a moment’s notice.</p>
<p><strong>7. The Client Financing Plan</strong></p>
<p>If you have a lot of contacts, you can approach companies to obtain retainer contracts. For a discount of up to 25 percent, you’ll offer your services in exchange for guaranteed income.</p>
<p>You’ll have to be willing to work under an agreement for a year. Once the year is up, you can choose to raise your rates or move on to other clients (you were marketing over the course of the year, right?).</p>
<p><strong>8. The Outsourcing Plan</strong></p>
<p>I was on the moonlighting plan and this plan. When I first started, cost was <strong>the</strong> biggest issue. Ok, it was the <strong>only</strong> issue.</p>
<p>I don’t recommend taking yourself out of the picture completely. Your reputation is the only thing you have. It’s much better to take on fewer clients and do good work than to take on too many clients and deliver junk.</p>
<p>Don’t be surprised if it takes a dozen tries to find the right people. I’m lucky to have found several ladies that do outstanding work and are affordable too.</p>
<p>I don’t know too much about programming, but I do know that you get what you pay for when it comes to writing. Keep searching for higher quality people as your budget allows.&#8221;</p>
<p>Thanks again to my friends at <a target="_blank" href="http://freelancesprout.com" target="_blank">Freelance Sprout</a> for their wonderful work! Check their site out, there really are some great tips on there.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://www.votips.com/let-it-go-pt-1/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Let It Go!! Pt. 1'>Let It Go!! Pt. 1</a> <small>This will be a follow up post to one I...</small></li>
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		<title>Let It Go!! Pt. 1</title>
		<link>http://www.votips.com/let-it-go-pt-1/</link>
		<comments>http://www.votips.com/let-it-go-pt-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:18:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meflowers331</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[This will be a follow up post to one I wrote on March 13th. That title was Take It Slow. The title of this post is Let it Go (obviously enough). So just exactly what does that mean? About a bazillion things actually. 1) First thing&#8217;s first: when you make a mistake, let it go. [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This will be a follow up post to one I wrote on March 13th. That title was Take It Slow.</p>
<p>The title of this post is <strong>Let it Go</strong> (obviously enough). So just exactly what does that mean? About a bazillion things actually.<br />
<span id="more-12"></span><br />
1) First thing&#8217;s first: <strong>when you make a mistake, let it go.</strong> If you&#8217;re recording in your studio and you keep making the same mistake over and over (not only might you need to refer to my last post) but you need to just stop, take a breath, grab a sip of water (you have it in your hand don&#8217;t you?) and then keep on truckin&#8217;.</p>
<p>2) When you&#8217;ve just finished your eleventy-seventh audition and you&#8217;ve just gotten you&#8217;re eleventy-eighth rejection notice&#8230; that&#8217;s right&#8230; let it go! <strong>The one thing that is not too pleasant about being a VO person (the average kind, anyways) is that you don&#8217;t always win.</strong> I read in <a target="_blank" href="http://www.voiceacting.com/Products/VO_Books/AOVA/aova.html" target="_blank">James Alburger&#8217;s The Art of Voice Acting </a>(a GREAT book, by the way) that you don&#8217;t win everyone, but that doesn&#8217;t mean you are a terrible voice actor, it just means there was someone else who had the voice that the client had in their heads. Sometimes (and this is a sometimes I hope you never experience) you get the call to do a gig and it NEVER happens. This has happened to me twice. I just had to&#8230; you guessed it&#8230; let it go, even though it hurt like heck.</p>
<p>3) You might think to yourself, &#8220;Man, this takes a lot of money to get a VO career started!&#8221; Yeah it takes a little (less if you read my previous posts!) but you have to&#8230; say it with me&#8230; let it go! <strong>Unfortunately, in business (that&#8217;s what we are in, by the way, is business) you have to spend money before you can make money. </strong>No exceptions, especially in our line of work.</p>
<p>This is just part one of this post. I still have some juicy morsels of knowledge brewing in the pot of my mind. Subscribe to have updates to the blog delivered to your e-mail! You can do so in the new and improved right hand column.</p>


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		<title>Bettye Zoller&#8217;s &#8220;What Is A Voiceover?&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://www.votips.com/bettye-zollers-what-is-a-voiceover/</link>
		<comments>http://www.votips.com/bettye-zollers-what-is-a-voiceover/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Mar 2008 05:45:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>meflowers331</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Demos]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[This afternoon I had the pleasure of e-meeting Bettye Zoller, one of the great female voices in the world of voiceover. She has granted me permission to use her article &#8220;What Is A Voiceover&#8221; on my blog. Without further ado: Bettye Zoller&#8217;s &#8220;What Is A Voiceover?&#8221;: What Is A Voiceover and How Do You Do [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This afternoon I had the pleasure of e-meeting <a target="_blank" href="http://www.voicesvoices.com" target="_blank">Bettye Zoller</a>, one of the great female voices in the world of voiceover. She has granted me permission to use her article &#8220;What Is A Voiceover&#8221; on my blog. Without further ado: Bettye Zoller&#8217;s &#8220;What Is A Voiceover?&#8221;:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><u><span style="font-size: 14pt">What Is A Voiceover and How Do You Do It?<o:p></o:p></span></u></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 11pt">By Bettye Zoller<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 11pt"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.voicesvoices.com/">www.voicesvoices.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span> </span><a target="_blank" href="mailto:btzol@aol.com">btzol@aol.com</a> <o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p>What Is A Voiceover?</span></strong></p>
<p><span id="more-6"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Radio is the ultimate voiceover. It has often been called, <em>“The Theatre of the Mind.”</em> A voiceover can be defined as, <em>“anytime a voice is heard without seeing a person talking.”</em> This definition doesn’t always suffice however, because voiceover talents often speak in on-camera TV commercials or TV programs. One example is the wonderful and timeless sitcom, “The Wonder Years,” and another program that used voiceovers extensively was “My So-Called Life.” Today, “Desperate Housewives uses voiceovers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p></o:p>Voiceover talents can also “overdub” by synchronizing their voiceover to the movements of on camera actors’ mouths as the actors are viewed on-screen.<span>  </span>Sometimes, voice actors overdub speech because on-camera actors were chosen for the way they looked but vocally (as actors) lacked some sort of quality the director sought. Other times, voiceovers are used in films and TV programs because the audio sound was not of sufficient quality and must be improved in a recording studio setting (ADR work—additional dialogue recording). On-camera actors are usually cast for the way they look, the image they project, not for their voice skills. Voiceovers are also used to overdub actors’ speeches so that the film or TV show can be sold or syndicated in foreign markets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p>Voiceover talents today are hired to narrate audio books, anime, cartoons, videos, films, and cable TV programs. They are the voices of toys, talking picture frames, cell phone messages, talking greeting cards, your car’s GPS navigation system, and everything else that’s manufactured with a computer chip inside of it on which a voice track can be stored and played. Voiceover talents greet you (and annoy you!) on thousands upon thousands of those pesky recorded telephone messages and IVR systems. They talk to you through ceiling speakers while you shop in stores. You hear voiceover talents trying to convince you to buy cosmetics at your department store on a video playing over and over (looping) next to those expensive cosmetic products! The military uses voiceovers in training projects and the educational field also uses voice actors for educational endeavors. Nearly every classroom today, kindergarten through post-graduate study in universities sports a large TV monitor in a corner on which educational videos are played. Sometimes, it seems that a teacher doesn’t talk very much anymore. Rather, schools teach a majority of the time with videos.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt">What Should a Voiceover Talent Strive For, and Why?<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">The talent’ should sound natural and believable (unless voicing a cartoon or character voice, and even then, being a “believable bunny or duck” is probably a worthwhile goal . . .) without revealing there is a written script. The ultimate goal is to sound as if the thoughts being expressed in the script are emanating from the voiceover talent’s own thoughts. The voice talent is a communicator who should strive to convey the script’s message in the most effective manner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt">Stages of Performance<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">A voice talent should strive to understand the project, its scope, its purpose. The talent should understand what the producer/director/client needs and wants you to do as the voice of the project. This may require <em>questioning</em> the producer or attempting to delve deeper into the project’s scope. Never be fearful of asking questions on an audition or a session.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><u><span style="font-size: 11pt">A voiceover talent should:</span></u><span style="font-size: 11pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Understand the script and its purpose<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Understand the director/producer/client’s needs      and goals<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Determine for whom the voiceover message is      intended (audience)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Sound natural, believable, and real (even if      you’re a cartoon or toy voice!)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Be skilled at “the cold read,” that is, reading      something aloud you’ve not seen previously.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Give the script “life,” by bringing it to “full      bloom” with your vocal rendering<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Be “at home” in the recording studio and      understand the recording process, never waste studio time, but rather, be      quick, saving money.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Be a business person, a skilled professional,      always prompt, dependable.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><em><span style="font-size: 11pt">No one had all of these qualifications starting out!</span></em><span style="font-size: 11pt"> These are acquired with practice. I always remind my students that, “you have to play to win.” I add, “one thing is certain: You’ll never know if you could have succeeded if you don’t try.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p>That brings me to the next bit of advice: <em>Listen to voiceovers constantly</em>—on TV, in videos and films (cable TV is a goldmine to learn how to narrate video and film). Listen for voiceovers in stores (on point-of-purchase videos or through ceiling speakers), on the telephone, in the airport, in your physician’s office, —everywhere. Learn from voiceover professionals who speak to you constantly, teaching you, every day!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><em><span style="font-size: 11pt">The Voiceover CD Demo<o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><u><span style="font-size: 11pt">A performer’s voiceover demo is required if you’re going to get auditions or work!<o:p></o:p></span></u></em></strong></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size: 11pt">Having a professional voiceover demo that is created in a recording studio with the guidance of a professional producer is “a must!” </span></em><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span> </span>A voiceover demo’s cost will be higher in NYC and LA. If saving money is important, have your demo produced and recorded outside of these areas! Also, realize that there are substantial differences between what producers deem a “proper demo” in LA and in “the hinterlands.” However, it is possible to produce a demo that agents and producers respect in many diverse geographic regions, even in Europe, if you seek out the right producers who know what agents and producers are looking for today. And, of course, compare prices. But also, realize that saving money should not mean settling for an inferior product. Know your producer’s credentials and ask for referrals from satisfied demo clients! And never even think of recording a voiceover demo without being well rehearsed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p><span> </span>If the recording studio or the producer tells you that you can “come into my studio and we’ll construct the demo that same day,” walk, don’t run! The contents of a demo should be tailored closely to the client’s voiceprint, the talent’s personality and voice profile, age, and gender. The sound of a voice usually tells a producer a lot about that profile. The contents of the demo should be chosen well ahead of the recording session date and the talent should be well coached. As for “voice type,” for example, a young female voice talent with a wispy rather whimsical voice would have a demo with certain types of material on it while a deep voiced older female, perhaps one with a theatrical flair, would have completely different material on her demo. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt">You’re<span>  </span>Mentors<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Who will train you? Who will produce your demo? That’s most important. You need a skilled voiceover coach / audio producer beside you, guiding you. A demo will illustrate your skills reading voiceover material in a wide variety of areas (the areas mentioned earlier here). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt">What does a Demo Contain and What Should Be Its Length?<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">A demo contains short passages edited into a montage about two minutes to two and one-half minutes long. This version, however, will be combined with short edits. I prefer 90 and 60 second versions of the long demo. The short versions are used on websites and as attachments to emails. In this way, the talent and his or her agents have a long version and two short versions to work with for various reasons. I do not favor ONLY the short demo length based on my ongoing discussions with agents in many U.S. regions. The short version is, however, favored by Los Angeles producers with whom I consult. Here, in Dallas and all of the U.S. outside of the East and West coasts, my agent advisors tell me they prefer getting one longer demo and the short edits.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p>As I explain to all of my students and clients: When I state “my opinion” on an issue, it is not solely, “my opinion.” Rather, it is my “take” on an issue that has resulted from my talking with, consulting with, my sources in many locations in the U.S. and Europe. I belong to many professional groups including VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association), AFTRA national committees, SAG national committees, and many voiceover talent agents and producers. I also regularly consult with other voiceover professionals in many diverse locations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt">Distribution and Self-Promotion<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">The next step involves duplicating your CD demo and obtaining a professional CD label. Some talents package a demo with a label plus a front and back cover and CD spine. Others use only a professional looking CD label. Remember: Producers and agents are interested primarily in what’s ON the demo, not in its packaging. If the package is fabulous and its contents terrible, you’ve accomplished naught. You may choose to duplicate and package the CD demo yourself. You may have others do it for you. Either way, it must sound the best. That’s most important.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p>Be prepared to produce quantities of your CD over the first year and on a continual basis throughout your career. Self-promotion should be on-going, year after year. However, don’t do large duplication quantities until you’re sure you don’t want to change the demo. Add some recent voice work to an old demo and rearrange the cuts and it’s “all new” (or so it seems . . .). Most coaches and producers agree that a voiceover CD demo should be updated about every eighteen months to two years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Don’t print vast label quantities. Do not have a label printed in large quantities on the CD itself. You may change agents! Your phone or e-mail may change. It happens all the time! I suggest starting with 100 copies of your demo. Then, duplicate more copies as you need them to get signed by broadcast agents in various cities and to start your promotional machine <em><u>in high gear</u></em>. After that, plan on distributing about 50 demos per month or more if you can.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p>And finally, you are ready to distribute your CD demo to your broadcast agents, to business owners, to producers/directors, to people you meet at networking events, and to put your demo on websites (your own and commercial sites that send work to voice talents on the internet). <strong>Self-promotion never ends! You are a small business owner and your business is YOU.<o:p></o:p></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt">Every Business Has a Start-Up Process (Voiceovers Do Too!)<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Compared to opening a storefront, starting a new restaurant, becoming a dentist or lawyer, starting your musical or film acting career, the start-up costs to enter the voiceover field are relatively modest. However, you must prepare for routine, <em>expected</em> expenses involved with studying, attending workshops, consulting with teachers and demo producers, creating your CD voiceover demo, and distributing that demo (self-promotion). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt">The self-promotion never ends, as I said above!</span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt"> And that will cost money – for postcard mailers, business cards, CD mailers, mailing labels, promotional give-away items to get noticed, all of the costs connected with large batch duplication of your CD and packaging, printed brochures, postal charges, networking costs, anything and everything that gets you noticed by those who hire voiceover talents.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p>Don’t overlook <em>free </em>opportunities for publicity: Newspaper and magazine articles, trade publications, newsletters. Join organizations in your area where your visibility can be increased. Make new contacts that can potentially help you. Remember: It’s not necessarily “who you know!” It is “who <strong><em><u>they</u></em></strong> know!”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt">Visibility<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">You must (like every other business on the planet) create and maintain an internet presence. While your website does not have to be a major investment, it should look professional. I use website building templates provided by my website host sites. If you need help, solicit it from a student or friend rather than spending major sums of money on design that could be spent in other ways. Get started building your website or make sure your site can accept audio files so you can post your demo (s) on it. That’s a must!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt">Be Optimistic and Realistic<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt">I have produced demos for a few of my students who made money from voicing substantial projects immediately. Many have voiced major national commercials that paid residuals for many years to come <u>within the first year</u> after <span> </span>I produced their demo CD. Some have become the favorite voices of producers who use them over and over, creating a steady income stream. Still others decide to start their own businesses, selling their own voiceover jobs (telephone messaging, audio books, commercials). Others for whom I’ve produced a demo have a slower start, preferring to maintain their “learning curve” and “promotion curve” (not unlike some business owners who want to “build the business” over time). Sometimes, that “slow build.” Is a good<span>  </span>one. One talent recently told me that he is “building his start in his own way and finding his ‘sea legs.” <em>Everyone moves at their own “career speed.”<strong>Bottom line:</strong> The amount of time spent on one’s endeavors usually is reflected, in direct proportion to the degree of success that one achieves</em>. Part-time effort usually results in part-time work (if any). Perhaps a “day job” or family life means severely limited time is available for promoting your new voiceover endeavors. That’s o.k. everyone has their own time schedule.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p></span><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt">Start building and keep building!</span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt"> <strong>One thing is certain: If you don’t try, you’re sure to fail! Good luck!! Everyone was a beginner at one time! Go for it!<o:p></o:p></strong></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 11pt"><o:p> </o:p>Bettye Zoller Seitz<o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 11pt">All rights reserved 2007<o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 11pt">Ask for permission to use or reprint<o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 9pt">Voiceover Talent/Educator Audio Engineer Recording Studio Owner/Demo Producer<o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 9pt">Simon and Schuster Voice Talent-Producer/ Dialect and Voice Speech Coach<o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 9pt">Winner ADDYS/CLIOS/GOLDEN RADIOS/AUDIE AWARDS<o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 9pt">MM.ED/Ph.D.ABD<o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><em><span style="font-size: 9pt">214-638-TALK (8255)<o:p></o:p></span></em></strong></p>
<p>WOW!! What a GOLDMINE of information! I hope you got as much out of this as I did! Thank you Bettye! You truly are the consummate professional! We all have a lot to learn from you.</p>
<p>I would suggest that readers would hop on Bettye&#8217;s site and see when she&#8217;s holding her next seminar and GO!! I know I am going when she comes to Nashville!</p>


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