We just completed the first of Harlan Hogan’s month-long STARTING YOUR VOICEOVER BUSINESS: Everything You Need To Know To Turn Your Dream Or Your Sideline Into A Business teleseminar series.
We asked our students to send us their candid reviews. Here they are.
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I’m even more excited for the remaining sessions than I was before this started. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for – how to be in the “business” of voiceover. Thanks, guys.
Thanks for a great “Week One”!
This was the perfect combination of the basics with new perspectives and the added value of experience.
I really liked the stress on VO being a business that requires working equally hard in 3 areas, not just on the craft.
The review of what voices are needed for today gave me some new ideas that I’m excited to pursue.
This was an excellent and well-organized session.
– I really liked the myths section, as it cleared up some misconceptions I still had.
– ABSOLUTELY concur on your recommendation of “The E-Myth”. I read this book when I first started my Internet advertising business and I think it should be mandatory reading for anyone who wants to get a business license! It made a huge difference in the way I thought about my company, and it makes perfect sense to apply those principles to the VO biz.
– I wouldn’t mind a more thorough look into strategies for breaking into each of the specific items in the “What Voices Are Needed Today” section (pg 4). Although this may be too much for this initial session, but maybe some place for further investigation? Obviously, there is a lot of overlap in marketing strategies, but I’m sure there are some quirks and intricacies that are specific for each, right?
– The case studies were probably my least favorite section, as they seemed a little dated.
Enjoyed the overview and introduction…I especially like having assignments to get me to work and to hold me accountable, even if only to myself!
My biggest take away is that I appreciate your honesty and directness about this venture. I look forward to the rest of the class.
FANTASTIC class … lots of great and helpful information. Thank you so much!
Honestly—tonight’s first session could be very well worth the entire fee and class time.
Knowing the history of the voiceover business from Harlan’s perspective is incredible. I really was hoping to find the trucks full of money, but now I have a realistic approach of what to expect and a beginning of a road map of how to at least get started.
Thanks for everything, and I look forward to tomorrow night’s call.
Wow! Just finished the first class with Harlan and Dan, and I can’t wait for the next.
The information was solid, realistic, and motivating.
Thank you so much for a great first session. There were several parts that I found especially helpful. The first and most important to me was your willingness and "gentle" suggestions to take action. I find that I am much more active when I am working with someone who sets goals for the completion of various projects.
Second, I also appreciate the honest and candid advice. As I have started to learn more and more about the voice over business, yes I called it a business, some of the information has been contrary to other information. So thank you for clearing up so much on this first night!
I'm looking forward to the Q&A session tomorrow.
Very informative, and fun! I am very excited about the remainder of the course. I can honestly say, I didn’t want to get off the call.
I eagerly anticipate the next class!
Excellent, basic information. Good detail. My favorite bit was the 16 Myths section. Most useful section was the “Five Things You Should Do — Now — To Get Going” which was chuck full of actionable suggestions. I most appreciate the emphasis on taking action. One of my key weaknesses is spending too much time “learning” and not enough time taking action on the basis of what I’ve learned. I can tell this is going to be an extremely valuable month of lessons for me, even though I’ve been steadily working as a voiceover talent since 1983.
Harlan was able to share an abundance of knowledge in a very clear and easy manner. This made the class not only enjoyable but informative at the same time. The time just flew by. Thank you very much.
I just wanted to say THANK YOU for tonight’s seminar. You’ve done a great job of getting me to focus on what I want to do and what I need to do.
This has always been my biggest stumbling block, not just getting the work, but focusing myself on what KIND of work, and making a business out of this business.
I also appreciate how much time you’re devoting to each topic. This is really like taking a master class at a college because we’re getting detailed and thorough information that can be put to use right away.
I had some jitters about taking this class because I’ve had some bad experiences in not only voiceover classes but other career training in the past. You guys blew all my jitters away within a few minutes by showing me how I can put this together in realistic practical application.
This is where the voiceover coach that I had before failed miserably. He gave me no guidance at all on how to focus on a career.
Now after this session I can see that I not only can do this but, more importantly, I can see HOW I can do this.
I can’t wait for the next sessions!
Congrats on a terrific lesson one, I found it to be informative and relevant. Nice job to both of you!
As a completely newbie to this business, I appreciated that no assumptions regarding industry jargon, acronyms, etc. were made. Since there were many professionals on this call, I could have been easily overwhelmed if you hadn’t made the content applicable to any one at any level. Thanks!
I wasn’t sure what to expect but the following are what I found to be most valuable.
A lot of concrete things to aid in moving forward. In particular, the section covering voice coaches– the specific questions to ask are invaluable. I wish I would’ve had these a year ago when shopping for one. I got sucked into 2 bad situations.
Specific do’s and don’ts with regard to in studio, audition, and client etiquette were also valuable.
I also thought covering the future of VO was enlightening.
I kind of already knew the changes in vo (from back in the day to today) as well as the myths.
I’m excited to learn the business of the business. And yes, the business part is no fun but it’s necessary to be successful. I’ve already got some new ideas on how to move forward and I’m sure I’ll have even more by months end. At this point, these 2 topics have been motivational for me to be more business savvy. I am quite weak in that department and therefore have been neglecting it.
while tonight’s material was 99% stuff i already knew, i don’t feel cheated…especially since you did the breakdown at the very outset as to the percentages of people in various stages of voiceover careers.
i didn’t hear a whole lot that was new for me, but i was greatly encouraged that what i thought i knew is evidently pretty much how things really are. and i am very much anticipating the day when i feel the same way about all the marketing/promotion/business/unique-selling-proposition elements scheduled for classes in the coming weeks.
As someone in VO for the last 10 years or so, I knew the majority of what was discussed in module one. I really like that the focus is on the business end, as that is what I need a swift kick in the shorts about, i.e. working a real business model/plan, and doing consistent marketing. I’m ashamed to say that, I know many of the things I could be doing, but just get complacent. I am here to finally treat my VO career like a real business and stop messing around!
Thanks, Dan for your great input as well during the first call when something might not have been clear. Nice work 🙂
I have just gotten off of the 1st “lesson” call for wek one. I thought it was enlightening and in some ways a little scary. I am ready to start my own business(I think), but the reality is a little frightening. I have never been good with the nuts and bolts of business I am one that’s going to need a good plan and some legal as well as financial counsel. I hope that the business workings become easier as the course unfolds. I know I have the talent and technique to create the product, I am still in search of a plan.
Thanks very much for tonight’s call. Good start! I like the flow, and, as a former student of B.F. Skinner, I warm to the “teaching machine” mnemonic framework for notes.
The team-teaching approach is good. Dan’s occasional elaborative, editorial, or directing comments helped illuminate items obviously axiomatic to Harlan, but perhaps elusive of some of us students.
Looking forward to the rest of the course – and the task-based guidance (a.k.a. my feet being held to the fire).
Just want to thank you all for such a professional job on everything. The technical end of it went really well. I usually get locked out or logged off of these things so great job!
Harlan, you really stayed on topic so I was able to focus on everything being said. Too many teachers go on about themselves instead of teaching.
Thanks, Dan, for picking up on the two items Harlan missed.
I appreciate having the guide in front of me. It helps me to remember things better when I’m writing, participating.
With all this great information you filled in the blanks for me about a lot of things.
I already know not to quit my day job but I appreciate your pointing out the reality of the biz. I’m already working hard but need to work harder on this, to find my place in the vo biz. And I believe there is a place for me.
I appreciate that we were muted, so no outside distraction taking away from Harlan’s information, which was very well organized.
I’m exhausted! That’s good! I’m getting my money’s worth at last!!!
Thank you very much. Hear you tomorrow.
I really enjoyed tonight's session with Harlan & Dan!
Particularly helpful was the material on the Kinds of Work out there, 5 things we should do now in Preparation, The Three Hats we have to wear (Entrepreneur-Manager-Craftsperson) and Harlan's tips on auditions…length of read (being from radio background, I thought auditions had to hit :30 or :60 on the nose)… and having that second take with a slightly different read about a second after the first. The Paper Boy was a very interesting case study in selling yourself all the time…the binder with talking points is a great idea!
I looked forward to this teleseminar for more than a month and it was well worth the wait…
Thanks guys!
My favorite section of tonight’s call was the “Myths” section– not that I’ve ever been lied to by professionals about any of these things, but some of these things have simply never come up before!
Thanks for a tight and well-structured lesson!
Thanks Harlan and Dan for a wonderful first night in the Voiceover Business Class. I particularly took interest in several of the common voiceover myths. First, “Your clients love to hear about your latest gig.” In the past, I have been taught to market big jobs I’ve landed to existing and perspective clients, perhaps with an email or postcard. I’m really looking forward to hearing some solid marketing strategies that won’t make me look like a you know what! And I guess I better go edit some of my website…Secondly, the myth “ISDN is rapidly being replaced by internet long distance software solutions,” really rocked my boat! Again, I had heard otherwise. To hear that ISDN is the gold standard and mark of the professional makes me rethink my studio set-up. And finally, it was a relief to learn that while I need to be proficient in learning my recording software, I needn’t try to get my phD in audio recording to impress the recording engineers. Whew!
I could go on and on, but I guess I best get started on that homework plan! Thanks again for all of your wonderful information. I can’t wait to hear the next session.
Very much liked tonight’s call. Lots of valuable info. Here are some bulletpoints:
– The outline in the study guide was very helpful; kept me paying attention and on task with the “fill in the blanks” format
– I think I had it backward – thought that my skill set & talent is the most important thing in this business. What I have heard in the past is the goal is to get an agent, then leave the business aspects (marketing, negotiations, etc.) up to them. Because of tonight’s class, I’m thinking of this in a whole different way now – managing & marketing myself throughout my career (agents are important, I am sure, and I think we cover that in a later session of the course). Very eye opening for me. What I’m hearing from you guys is you can be the most talented performer in the world, but if you don’t have the business skills, that will be a big problem…
– I like the weekly Action Plan and that it’s up to me. Not one size fits all. I’ve already got a couple of things on my list. Now my mind is churning…what do I need to do for my voiceover business?
– Very much looking forward to doing the assignment and seeing what I discover…
– What a wealth of information…
I’m encouraged. This is a tough, competitive business – but there is work out there. And I can market & manage myself. I can do this.
Looking forward to tomorrow…
Really enjoyed the straightforward approach.
Good content.
And, EVERYBODY likes an extra bonus-great idea!
The session was handled very well. All of the items listed were covered thoroughly. It’s very user friendly. The most eye opening thing in this session was that to be a good voice over, or to be a successful voice over, you must also be a business person. Many people don’t think about it beyond the microphone.
I will not be able to listen in live tomorrow as I have a remote. Having the sessions available as mp3’s is brilliant! Now I won’t miss a thing. Good thinking.
Great start to what promises to be an interesting course. The technical set-up is quite impressive; no major glitches first night – WOW!
You are ontrack to help me answer the question, "Can I cut the mustard in the voiceover field?" Marketing myself & selling are probably the things I need to work on most.
Good point about selling yourself cheap/being lowest bidder. People won't pay for something if they know you are willing to give it away free. When I quit the on air radio business many years ago I said to the bookkeeper, "Disc jockies are a dime a dozen". Without skipping a beat she responded "Make that a nickel".
I enjoy the fact that you guys just got right down to business and didn’t beat around the bush. It’s nice to know that you eliminate the fluff and tell it like it is. The first module was a great way to begin the class.
Thanks for the great first class. I appreciate the real world approach and the git r done attitude. It always helps when we have mentors pushing us to just do it.
I really enjoyed the myth busting as well. It’s so easy to psych ourselves out and not get started. This will be a good track to run on. Although I have my equipment, new web site, and new cards, I need the push to continue marketing and make my follow up calls. I get the jobs when I’m hustling the most.
Harlan, it really is about doing the work to build my business. The actual mic time is the icing on the cake. Thanks again Harlan and Dan. Thanks Dan for keeping Harlan in line…ha ha.
I really enjoyed your class. I had no idea how you were going to hold my attention for two straight hours, but you absolutely did. I’m amazed at how many notes I took and how helpful the sheets were in keeping me focused. I feel like the class was really energizing and I’m excited to get started on my homework and an action plan. I hope to keep this feeling of momentum. Unfortunately, I work on Tuesday and Wednesday nights (in a bar, no way to dial in), but already I can’t wait for the MP3s and I love the idea of a ‘Getting Things Done’ bonus session.
The session tonight was about what I expected, defining the industry and our jobs. I think too many talents are wasted because they know nothing of organizing or running a business. And that is an unfortunate waste. There is a great deal to cover in the coming weeks and tonight was a great beginning. Dan does a great setup and Harlan presents the material well. Looking forward to the coming sessions.
Thanks you for a great first class! I’m excited to be taking part in such a candid teleseminar. I appreciate the honesty in tonight’s topics, nothing was sugar coated and I’m already learning a lot. I feel energized and supported in setting goals for myself. There was a balanced mix of knowledge, enthusiasm and encouragement in the points we discussed and I’m looking forward to the classes to come!
I want to thank you both for caring enough about your businesses, and us journey-persons who are trying to break into the biz, by taking time from your own busy careers to collaborate and put together this phenomenal teaching tool.
Your combined knowledge, experience and qualifications in your respective fields has made Day One of Week One a very informative and thought provoking session. I truly respect your decision not to “sugar coat” anything but to tell it like it is. Working to get work, and laying to rest a lot of the myths I have heard and encountered about the business.
Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to participate in your first Voice Over Class. I am soooo looking forward to the rest of the month.
Thank you so much for tonight’s first, Starting Your Voiceover Business class! It is wonderful to actually hear Harlan Hogan imparting his own knowledge and experience on the business side of the field, which is mainly… getting the work!
Tonight’s teleseminar was very meaningful to me because it treated the world of voiceovers from a realistic viewpoint, yet still a promising one because it laid out an actual plan and approach to make doing something creative in which one is talented, a workable business. I like the insightful assignments too!
I also appreciated how Dan oversaw the coverage of the material making sure that nothing was missed such as all of the various sources for voiceover work, e.g. Animation, which is of particular interest to me, coming from an animation back ground (artist and brief VO artist nonunion) and one who is endeavoring to ‘break’ back into through that ‘side door’!
All the topics were pertinent and important such as having good computer and recording skills to delivering a job clean, and on time. As someone who works on a deadline, I can appreciate this concept.
I learned a lot in this module and I was also happy to hear that some of my beliefs about voiceovers were both true — and untrue! I also appreciated the various case stories about the different strategies by which people started a voiceover career.
I came away from the class with the conviction that if the artist makes a good plan and follows it with enthusiasm and diligence– they can make a good living and have some fun too – all artists need that!
So Do It NoW is my new mantra.
Dan and Harlan.
That was really great introduction with a LOT of useful stuff even for someone on the other side of the planet.
The VO situation in Slovenia – Europe is quite different but neverthless I believe that your Class will pay off very soon.
I’m happy I woke up at 3 am to listen to you live. I think you also gave me some stimulation for my morning show! Will keep waking up with you in following weeks 🙂
Thank you for the great class last night. It really put a light on how I was not doing this as a business. As you were talking ideas were popping in my head. I started my idea journal and will keep that with me at all times to keep jotting ideas.
First, congratulations on the first session going so smoothly! The content and calm, reassuring way the true nature of the industry was addressed was very helpful. I was filling out the worksheets last night, and took some time reviewing them this morning. I am to the point that I am most interested in the self-marketing aspect, along with the technical quality my home studio produces. The best section, therefore, in my opinion was what it takes for my VO business to succeed. I’m doing social media, have a web site, just attended the Voice Coaches Expo in NY this past weekend, and have a demo and a personal coach/mentor through the same co. that did my demo, and belong to voices.com. So far, no work. I get that “the true work of VO work is getting the work,” even though I’ve only begun in Jan. of ’09.
Breaking down the 5 attributes was helpful, but what really unlocked what I’ve been scrambling with was from the E-Myth book about skill not being enough; instead we are our own salesperson, manager, and trademan. I’m getting that book, pronto! I find that I need to find a balance. I’d like to hear more about what percentage of time you spend on self-marketing and clerical work if 2-5% is really spent on doing the work.
As far as the legal and financial piece of the business, I hope you’ll share what software is used to run your businesses. I’ve looked at Quicken and QuickBooks, but I’m on the fence…
You’ll be happy to know, I’ve already listened to the news with my eyes closed during my morning coffee. My high schooler and husband let me be, I only peeked when I would take a sip, so I wouldn’t have a morning spill!
Well done, guys!
What a dynamic combination! Harlan throwing out his pearls of wisdom in his soft baritone voice while Dan is carefully watching to make sure that no point gets missed. Dan is like the punctuation to Harlan's sentences!
This was a great overview of what we need to be doing, with the message loud and clear: Whatever it is that you should be doing, you should be doing it NOW! I found reality in Harlan's phrase: "The work of voiceover work is getting the work." A corollary of that would be: Take/make time to start getting the work! One needs his/her day job, but make sure that you allocate sufficient time from that job to be working at making voiceover work.
Thanks, guys, for a great overview class. I'm looking for more meat & potatoes in the weeks to come!
The information was presented in a very understandable fashion and was easy to listen to, though a bit long. I’m not sure what you could do about that. Maybe I’ll try to walk around more instead of thinking I’m tied to my chair.
My favorite parts of the presentation were the Pablo Picasso quote I’d never heard before and some of the anecdotes, particularly the one about trying to impress the engineer with your knowledge of audio engineering. Overall, I was encouraged to further focus on where I fit in the voiceover universe and look forward to turning certain steps I had decided on, and am actively engaged in taking, into a more formal “plan”. In fact, some of the assignments for this week should provide some relevant input. So, I look forward to the results.
The first installment of Starting Your Own Voiceover Business was superb. Harlan is a straight-shooting sage, and Dan’s moderating is right on point. I look forward to the ensuing weeks.
Thank you so much for getting the mp3 of Lesson one out so quickly! I was listening, taking notes and doing the workbook when suddenly my phone disconnected with still 45 minutes to go! So as soon as it hit my email box today I listened to the whole thing and proceeded do so my assignments for the week. Almost done!
I so much appreciate all the information and love the workbook that comes along with it. I love that there are two lessons a week and even an extra one this first week.
Looking forward to tonight’s call.
I have to say that the calls from Monday night and tonight were well worth the price of admission! Having a background in radio as well, I agree with Joe Fedele… I, too, was under the impression that auditions should hit the “post,” as it were, for time.
I liked hearing that it is not important to bring it in on time for an audition unless I am specifically instructed to do so. I also enjoyed learning the 5 “must-be” elements for a successful voiceover business at the bottom of page 4.
GOOD STUFF! I can hardly wait for the next session.