Dec 19, 2023
00:01 - Intro (Announcement)
It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level.
These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being
utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business
like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne
Ganguzza.
00:20 - Anne (Host)
Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss
Superpower
00:01 - Intro (Announcement)
It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level.
These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being
utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business
like a boss a VO Boss. Now let's welcome your host, anne
Gangusa.
00:20 - Anne (Host)
Hey everyone, welcome to the VO Boss podcast and the Boss
Superpower series. I'm here with my amazing boss co-host, la La
Peters. Hey La, hey Annie, welcome back, I'm excited. Yay, oh La,
let's talk this week about money, money, money, money, money money.
How much does voiceover cost? Oh, you mean, I get that question.
How much is it going to cost me? How much do I have to invest? How
much does it cost? I think we should have a discussion on the
financial side of things, because that's something that most people
don't want to think about it. They don't want to talk about it A
lot of times. They don't want to spend it or invest it. Yes, yes,
yes.
01:09 - Lau (Co-host)
I like to liken it to any other profession out there, and
preferably the most expensive professions to get into. For
instance, if I want to be a financial advisor and I'm going to go
through college and then graduate school, and then I'm going to
invest my money, my tuition, in my education, and then I'm going to
invest my money to purchase my tools, then I'm going to invest
money to get my either brick and mortar or online presence. Guess
what? I've spent a lot of money for that type of profession, and
not just a few hundred bucks.
01:44 - Anne (Host)
No.
01:45 - Lau (Co-host)
Not just a few thousand either.
01:47 - Intro (Announcement)
Exactly, exactly.
01:49 - Lau (Co-host)
I always set it up that way and just to give perspective to people
that this is really a profession, it's a viable career. But also
the truth is and I can say this because I live this myself it's a
drop in the bucket compared to becoming a doctor or becoming a
banker or becoming even SCPA a drop in the bucket.
02:12
So just to kind of keep that in mind up front. It's not an
overnight success career. It's not a I don't have to spend any
money but I can make a ton of money out of it. It's not that kind
of career at all, and it's good we kind of put it out there, annie,
and be honest about it, right?
02:30 - Anne (Host)
Okay, so what are the popular topics to talk about in voiceover?
Well, how can I be a character actor? How can I get my demo and
start making money? But, in reality, all the other aspects of being
a voice actor and having a business are going to require financial
investment one way or the other, and we really shouldn't expect
that it's going to be cheap. I don't have a lot of money, but I
want to be a voice actor, so can you help me? Well, I think that we
really just need to sit back and have a dose of reality where, as
you mentioned before, voice acting is a career, and for many other
careers, we invest our money. We've invested our money in
education, we invest our money in inventory, in storefronts, in
product, whatever that is. We invest our money, and the same is
true for voiceover. And so if you are coming into voiceover without
any money to spend, I think you need to rethink that
decision.
03:31 - Lau (Co-host)
Yeah, I would say that money should go along, in your mind, with
the other types of investment that you're going to be giving to
this Family time. What is the time investment? What are the
sacrifices that you will be making in order to launch your career
and keep it viable and keep it sustainable? I mean, what are you
investing into this? How about just energy? How about talking about
energy investment? It all goes along with your money. So don't
think, oh, if I throw 50,000 at this, I'm going to be rich and
famous. No, it's not just about money. It's about my level of
commitment and what commitment actually means. Money symbolizes my
commitment and it also is a monetary dispensation for someone to
give me a service.
04:20 - Anne (Host)
I love that you said, oh, if I throw $50,000 into this, because
I'll tell you what not one person that has approached me in the
last year or so, ever probably that it could cost up to that. But
I'll tell you what, over the years, law I mean in reality. I mean
there are thousands of dollars that are invested in my career, in
my equipment, in my studio, in coaching, just in running the
business. I mean absolutely, and I love that you just said that off
the top because I think it will hit our bosses like a little bit of
reality.
04:49
I mean, if any of you bosses that are out there have been listening
to the VEOBOSS podcast, we've been going for seven years and so if
you think about what have you really spent in seven years and you
looked at your accounting, you looked at your books, I'd like to
know what that number is, because 50,000 is actually small compared
to what I've invested for equipment and websites and subscriptions
and coaching and demos and conferences and all of these things that
I have invested my money into.
05:17
That is really nothing. And so I really want you to kind of take a
hard look at your numbers and I know a lot of people don't like to
do that because it's scary. It brings, I think, a reality to
people's lives. That voiceover isn't just this oh, I can do it from
home and it's so simple and I don't have to invest anything. And I
love how you also mentioned it really is a time commitment as well.
It's a commitment to really make this a serious commitment and a
serious career, because if you're not serious about it, well then I
don't know how much money will you be making. You know?
05:55 - Lau (Co-host)
Yes, and I know for a fact you and I come from the same background,
the same training methodology and work ethic and generation that
you come into it. Not every happening or event is a monetary
compensation, this idea that, oh, if I spend time doing this or
that, I'm gonna get paid for it. It's just not always true. There
is a building block time and even when you've built your studio or
you've built your company over five years or seven years, you're
still wanting to get to the next level. Well, how do you get to the
next level? Well, you are doing sacrifice all the time. Look at you
and I, like you're doing this incredible podcast for seven years.
I've been in it with you for a year and a half. Right, and one
could say, well, we're not sitting here having dollars flying at
our head on a Saturday afternoon for taking two, three hours of our
time unpaid relatively unpaid to do this.
06:52 - Anne (Host)
then you have to pay an engineer and an editor, whatever, so
what's?
06:57 - Lau (Co-host)
the return then? Well, the return becomes the belief system that
what we're offering is educational value to our people we love and
adore and care about our client base, our audience, new people
coming in and that of course, to some degree you're going to close
a number of new clients that come in that hear your project, but
guess what? You may not.
07:20 - Intro (Announcement)
And if you may not, if you may not.
07:22 - Lau (Co-host)
That's the risk reward that you take in saying I'm going to take
every Saturday to record, I'm going to pay that editor, no matter
what, I'm going to hire that engineer, no matter what. It's that
sense of jumping off the cliff and saying my career is worth doing,
that I may not always see a dollar per dollar of time spent and
energy spent, so it's not a tit for tat that way. I think too many
people are looking at it in that way, like, well, what am I going
to get paid for? Every single moment I work and think about this, I
said, well, nothing. You're going to get paid in education, in
value, in relationship, whatever. You're not going to always get
the dollar bills. Baby, right, just remember that payment is not
always about Money. It's about different value of forces in your
life that come together that sustain a whole career. We don't want
jobs, we want a career. Yeah.
08:20 - Anne (Host)
And I think a lot of assumptions come from the fact if this is the
first time you are getting into voice, acting and creating a
business, it is all about creating a business, which is different
than working for people, where you do tasks and then you get paid
for that. When you are setting up and creating a business, there
are investments that you need to make, and this is a completely
different mindset than oh, okay, I did work and I expect money for
it. Now you're going to have to put work in. You're going to also
invest money. You're going to have to invest money into it. So most
people they have a job. They're not investing money in that job,
they're just receiving money. But here you have to understand that
this is now something that will require an investment of your money
and of your time and of your commitment really to make it work, and
it's not just a one-time thing. I don't want people to think that
as well.
09:11
It's not like oh, I can sink in $10,000 and then I'll have my
career. No, that is something that you need to maintain. You need
to continually invest and reinvest in that business to have growth,
to have any kind of growth, and I think if you sat there with your
business and never invested another cent in it, you're probably not
going to have a business for very long. Right? I like to think of
it as gambling.
09:35 - Lau (Co-host)
It is a gamble. It's a gamble we can do the research, we can do our
homework, we can make ourselves knowledgeable and we can hone our
skills and talent, but it's still a gamble because you're dealing
with a lot of variables that are not in your control. So I like to
say, all right, if you have a pocket and let's say you're going to
stash in, you know you're going to Vegas or something you're going
to stash in $1,000 in that pocket on the left-hand side, that
$1,000, I'm willing to spend and lose, because I know I'm going to
Vegas and I know I'm gambling it and I know that there's a good
chance the house will win and I'll lose it. Then in my other pocket
I've got like $5,000, I'm not spending that, I'm saving that. I
have that as a safety net, I have that as my backup, okay, for my
life.
10:22
Let's say that and I'm not going to spend it unless I absolutely am
up against a wall and would have to. So, from a gambling
perspective, your business is one big gamble. Sure is, you know,
sure is, and I'm only using $1,000 as just a number. It could be
$100,000, but I'm not using $1,000 as a number. I know I'm spending
that, will I get it back into my right pocket? Sure, that's the
question, right? That's the gamble, right.
10:49 - Anne (Host)
That's the gamble. That's the gamble, that's the gamble.
10:52
And that's where I think the investment in commitment right,
commitment to making that business a success right Really comes
into play as well, because it's not just a one-shot deal Let me
just do this because I can do this from home. No, you're going to
make an investment and, of course, we hope that, as bosses, you
enjoy that investment or you're enjoying that creation of a
business and also enjoying the performance aspect of your voice,
acting career. So it's not just performance, it is business,
probably more so almost, than performance. However, performance
affects your product, right. So it then becomes a business because
people are buying your product. Well then, you need to invest in
your product. Your product would be your voice, that would be your
coaching, that'll be your demos, that'll be your marketing, that'll
be your website, anything that's going to get your product out in
front of prospective clients. And again, that becomes investment
and money that needs to be spent by you.
11:48
I'm not quite sure where it's coming from If it doesn't come. Oh,
maybe it could come from other people. If you're lucky enough to
have somebody invest in your business, that is wonderful, but it's
still going to take some cold, hard cash and a lot of you that are
just getting into this need to take a look at your investments and
need to start tracking your finances. And again, I've always said
that the best thing that I've always ever done for my business was
to hire an accountant to help me do that on a day to day basis. So
every bit of money that goes out is accounted for and all the money
that comes in is accounted for, so I can do a P&L statement and
then find out how is my business doing. Do I need to cut back
spending on certain things? Do I need to? Maybe I don't need that
new mic, even though I might want it.
12:34
You don't need that other color pair of headphones, although that's
an investment.
12:38 - Lau (Co-host)
I did you one better, annie, I actually married one.
12:44 - Anne (Host)
There you go, but you got to have a great accountant.
12:46 - Lau (Co-host)
An in-house accountant on your side. You have to have it, it's so
important to say have a great attorney, have a great doctor have a
great accountant.
12:55
It's really important, I would say. Wouldn't you say it's fair to
to say that every year of your business, for however long you own
your business, you are going to have fixed costs always and you are
going to have variable costs always. And to just kind of understand
the difference between the two, so that I hear a lot of talent get
very upset about the fact that their fixed costs are not doable for
them. And I said, well, I can't even talk about the variable cost
to you yet, because you haven't understood and been honest about
your mortgage or your rent or your food or your car, whatever that
fixed every month cost is for you. That's unavoidable. You must
deal with that.
13:40
Then you can deal with the microphones and the demos and all of
that stuff and you're going to have a very peaceful state of mind
to know the most important things are taken care of. Like you and I
have a team, so we hire people all the time, so we have to be able
to pay those people right, absolutely. So if we can't pay those
people, then we can't talk about the upgrade of the microphone or
taking a trip around the world or whatever, because we've got a
certain fixed cost that we are responsible for and that's really
the ownership of a business is really understanding what your
financial, fiscal, health and responsibilities are of your business
on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis really are?
14:24 - Anne (Host)
Absolutely, absolutely. It really comes down to knowing those
numbers and then understanding are you able to handle those
numbers? And if you cannot handle those numbers with the voice of a
career, yet there's nothing wrong. We did a whole episode on side
hustles. There is nothing wrong with a side hustle, or even a
full-time job, until you can get yourself to the point where you
are able to support those fixed costs on a voiceover income and
that is getting increasingly difficult to do in these times, I'm
going to say but not impossible, not impossible. Number one I'm
encouraged by the strike being over and encouraged that I feel that
there's now life being breathed back into the career and the
recognition that we're getting to be compensated fairly for what we
do, and so I'm very encouraged by that.
15:13
And I think that for a while there there was some people that were
scared in the business that we didn't have the influx of newbies
that we typically do for a few months because of it, and I think
what's nice about it is that the cream rises to the top right,
because it's so important now, more than ever that our product
right is something viable and something amazing that people will
pay us for, and so you must, for your business, make that
investment.
15:40 - Lau (Co-host)
Yes, you do. You know, one thing that comes to mind I had
conversation with a couple of colleagues of mine recently kind of
an argument, a friendly argument, about this and it kind of is all
in this mix, annie, of what we're talking about, and that is
because there is so much for free now. Everything is so much
accessible on the internet for free right now. Sometimes talent can
fall into the spiraling rabbit hole, slippery slope of I'm going to
spend my whole day going to free webinars, free zooms, free this,
free funnels, free that, free this, free that, and not get to my
work, not get to actually my business.
16:17
And so I think that when it comes to how you're spending your
money, how you're investing your money, again that goes directly
with your time. Your time is valuable, time is money, time is
money. So be very careful not to over satiate yourself with oh,
I'll just sit and be a professional student and get knowledge all
day long and do the, but not really get to the hard, dirty part of
running the business. Right, I see that is a problem for a lot of
people. They spend every day in accountability groups. They spend
every day in webinars.
16:51
They spend every day because it's so easy, it's so accessible and
it's kind of fun too. You know you're learning and it's fun, but
then their day is blown. Their day is blown and they never really
get to the actual and they don't get to that marketing.
17:05 - Anne (Host)
I'm going to say that's the biggest thing. People like they don't
get to the direct marketing.
17:09
They don't get to their marketing, and marketing encompasses so
much. Marketing is so darn important. In law it's everything, and I
wish that it really is everything. I wish that everybody could
really just appreciate that from the get-go. I mean, I would say
that probably the majority of people that come into this industry
and study for a little bit, get their demo and then don't succeed
are because they have not been effective marketers, and that is
really Like nobody can hire you if they don't know about
you.
17:40
And so that marketing part which nobody likes. It's always the
classes that nobody will take at a conference. They're like the
last ones that are filled, because they're just not fun, right? I'd
much rather take an animation class or one of those classes rather
than figure out how can I run my business better. And it really is
so, so important that you understand the marketing of your
business, because you've got to be able to sell, you do. In order
to be able to recoup and get a return on investment right you need
to sell.
18:16 - Lau (Co-host)
And let's be honest, especially as we get older. I can only speak
for myself, but I know my colleagues feel the same way. I love
sitting in on classes.
18:25
When I go to a conference and I'm a speaker all that other time I'm
not speaking. I'm sitting in on classes and workshops and meeting
and learning and growing and da-da-da, but it becomes addictive.
You have to be careful. We are not a professional student. We are a
professional voiceover, talent or voice over business owner,
producer what have you? We can be studious, we can be educated and
we can be in professional development, but we're not a professional
full-time student.
18:54 - Anne (Host)
Exactly. But again, I also don't want you guys out there to think
that it's not important to be a student either.
19:00
No, we're always a student or a continual, always learning student
just not one that spends their entire day sitting in on free
webinars or I would say, investment in your demos, investment in
your coaching because, again, something that's going to enhance
your product okay is something that is always worthwhile. It's just
that when you kind of are like, oh no, I'll just sit in on this and
you're not really you're doing it more for the social aspect rather
than the enhancement of your product, I would say, be careful of
that.
19:32 - Lau (Co-host)
And that gossipy water cooler let me be in the in-clicky group is
listen, you're too old for that. I don't care if you're 25 or 55,
you got to get past that. You want to have friends and colleagues?
Of course you do, but it's really got to be. You are a solopreneur.
Until you build your team, you're a solopreneur. The buck stops
there. You know what I'm saying. You said it earlier. You said
about tracking have a tracking system where everything you do,
every webinar you take, every group you join, every membership what
is the return on that?
20:04 - Anne (Host)
at the end of a month or six months, what is?
20:07 - Lau (Co-host)
the return. Are you getting return? I don't necessarily just mean a
financial return. Are you getting an actual return of relationships
that have been built, of connections that have been built, of
producers that now know you, or is it just for fun, is it just for
social value? Is it for oh, I'm learning some new tips and tricks,
which I love, but is it applicable to what I'm doing? Is the
question that's.
20:32 - Anne (Host)
The fine line again. You and I both run online groups and we know
the value and the power of having a group. There's a power in
socializing with people with like minds, because we are
solopreneurs and we need that. But also it's kind of like if you
were in an office and you were socializing in your office the whole
day, your boss probably wouldn't be very happy with you.
20:52 - Lau (Co-host)
That's a great analogy.
20:55 - Anne (Host)
There's no productive work being done, so just keep that in mind. I
mean, I think every group has value. Accountability has value,
watercooler has value. My VOPEAPs, my VIPs in your group as well
the Inner Circle they all have their value, but just not
necessarily 24-7, where you're now neglecting the fact that you
probably need to market your business and get some jobs that will
help you to get a return on your investment.
21:21 - Lau (Co-host)
Yes, and understand your budget at the beginning of your quarter.
Set up your budget, however, is comfortable for you, whether it's
quarterly, annually, whatever it is. Set it up and have some
advisory on that, based on what your fixed costs are, so that you
don't feel like you're scrounging for under-the-seat cushions for
the coins by the end of the month. You want to come from a place of
abundance and wealth and fullness.
21:46
You don't want to come from a place of I'm scratching out of
desperation and I'm on my last dollar. It's very hard to have a
healthy, successful business coming from a mindset like
that.
21:58 - Anne (Host)
Oh gosh, yes, and I will say that my business didn't really fully
take off I've said this before until I really started to feel
comfortable having that little nest egg, that kind of savings
account.
22:09
So when I was able to, I mean, I put away money every single month,
right, and so it's just a consistent thing, so that I have a
business savings account, and when that business savings account
has a certain amount of money in it, I feel confident that I can
take risks, that I can invest in coaching, I can spend money on
things that will help me to get my business known better, and also
I can take some chances and try new technologies.
22:33
I want to emphasize that it's important for bosses to evolve with
the times and evolve with the technologies to help run their
businesses faster and more efficient, because if you're just doing
things still in an Excel spreadsheet or it really depends on what
makes you the most efficient. But there's lots of wonderful
technologies out there that can help you to run your business and
market your business more effectively. And take some time, maybe
learn those, maybe not. Let's not sit in the water cooler right
now, but let's learn how to utilize new technologies that will help
me automate my billing right, or how do I learn QuickBooks, or how
do I learn a new CRM, that kind of a thing. So think of those
things that will also help you to be more efficient in running your
business as well as saving money, so that you're not having to
spend maybe hiring somebody to do that. Maybe you can hire and, if
you are hiring out, make those people more efficient.
23:28 - Lau (Co-host)
Yes, and don't be cheap. Be frugal and economical, but don't be
cheap. You know, when you have your circle considering you and
thinking about you, and thinking about you as a person and also you
as a brand, you want them to feel this richness that there's a
giving to what you do, there isn't a holding back or a holding on
to or being a miser. You have to be very careful of that, because
if we always say this, annie, you and I say this the more you give,
the more potential you have of getting back in return. Yeah,
absolutely. So just give wisely, give wisely, invest wisely. There
you go.
24:03 - Anne (Host)
Wow, love it. All right, guys. Well, bosses, money. Take a cold
hard, look at it and don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of it. Don't
be afraid to invest and strategize. I think the more that you can
educate yourself, the easier it is to make those investments and
the smarter and more efficient your business will be. So, love
that, bosses. Take a moment and imagine a world full of passionate.
Because we are passionate, right, empowered, diverse individuals
giving collectively, as Law was just talking about, and
intentionally to create the world that they want to see. You can
make a difference. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to learn more. Big
shout out to IPDTL, our sponsor. We love IPDTL. You can learn more
at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week. We love you. We'll see
you next week. Bye, bye, have a good break.
24:58 - Intro (Announcement)
Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host,
ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for
our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content,
industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock
your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to
coast connectivity via IPDTL.
25:26 - Lau (Co-host)
How about this? You really, you really moved, that was interesting.
I just need time to process that.
a
series. I'm here with my amazing boss co-host, Lau Laupides. Hey Lau, hey Annie, welcome back, I'm excited. Yay, oh Lau, let's talk this week about money, money, money, money, money money. How much does voiceover cost? Oh, you mean, I get that question. How much is it going to cost me? How much do I have to invest? How much does it cost? I think we should have a discussion on the financial side of things, because that's something that most people don't want to think about it. They don't want to talk about it A lot of times. They don't want to spend it or invest it. Yes, yes, yes.
01:09 - Lau (Co-host)
I like to liken it to any other profession out there, and
preferably the most expensive professions to get into. For
instance, if I want to be a financial advisor and I'm going to go
through college and then graduate school, and then I'm going to
invest my money, my tuition, in my education, and then I'm going to
invest my money to purchase my tools, then I'm going to invest
money to get my either brick and mortar or online presence. Guess
what? I've spent a lot of money for that type of profession, and
not just a few hundred bucks.
01:44 - Anne (Host)
No.
01:45 - Lau (Co-host)
Not just a few thousand either.
01:47 - Intro (Announcement)
Exactly, exactly.
01:49 - Lau (Co-host)
I always set it up that way and just to give perspective to people
that this is really a profession, it's a viable career. But also
the truth is and I can say this because I live this myself it's a
drop in the bucket compared to becoming a doctor or becoming a
banker or becoming even SCPA a drop in the bucket.
02:12
So just to kind of keep that in mind up front. It's not an
overnight success career. It's not a I don't have to spend any
money but I can make a ton of money out of it. It's not that kind
of career at all, and it's good we kind of put it out there, annie,
and be honest about it, right?
02:30 - Anne (Host)
Okay, so what are the popuLaur topics to talk about in voiceover?
Well, how can I be a character actor? How can I get my demo and
start making money? But, in reality, all the other aspects of being
a voice actor and having a business are going to require financial
investment one way or the other, and we really shouldn't expect
that it's going to be cheap. I don't have a lot of money, but I
want to be a voice actor, so can you help me? Well, I think that we
really just need to sit back and have a dose of reality where, as
you mentioned before, voice acting is a career, and for many other
careers, we invest our money. We've invested our money in
education, we invest our money in inventory, in storefronts, in
product, whatever that is. We invest our money, and the same is
true for voiceover. And so if you are coming into voiceover without
any money to spend, I think you need to rethink that
decision.
03:31 - Lau (Co-host)
Yeah, I would say that money should go along, in your mind, with
the other types of investment that you're going to be giving to
this Family time. What is the time investment? What are the
sacrifices that you will be making in order to Launch your career
and keep it viable and keep it sustainable? I mean, what are you
investing into this? How about just energy? How about talking about
energy investment? It all goes along with your money. So don't
think, oh, if I throw 50,000 at this, I'm going to be rich and
famous. No, it's not just about money. It's about my level of
commitment and what commitment actually means. Money symbolizes my
commitment and it also is a monetary dispensation for someone to
give me a service.
04:20 - Anne (Host)
I love that you said, oh, if I throw $50,000 into this, because
I'll tell you what not one person that has approached me in the
Laust year or so, ever probably that it could cost up to that. But
I'll tell you what, over the years, Lauw I mean in reality. I mean
there are thousands of dolLaurs that are invested in my career, in
my equipment, in my studio, in coaching, just in running the
business. I mean absolutely, and I love that you just said that off
the top because I think it will hit our bosses like a little bit of
reality.
04:49
I mean, if any of you bosses that are out there have been listening
to the VEOBOSS podcast, we've been going for seven years and so if
you think about what have you really spent in seven years and you
looked at your accounting, you looked at your books, I'd like to
know what that number is, because 50,000 is actually small compared
to what I've invested for equipment and websites and subscriptions
and coaching and demos and conferences and all of these things that
I have invested my money into.
05:17
That is really nothing. And so I really want you to kind of take a
hard look at your numbers and I know a lot of people don't like to
do that because it's scary. It brings, I think, a reality to
people's lives. That voiceover isn't just this oh, I can do it from
home and it's so simple and I don't have to invest anything. And I
love how you also mentioned it really is a time commitment as well.
It's a commitment to really make this a serious commitment and a
serious career, because if you're not serious about it, well then I
don't know how much money will you be making. You know?
05:55 - Lau (Co-host)
Yes, and I know for a fact you and I come from the same background,
the same training methodology and work ethic and generation that
you come into it. Not every happening or event is a monetary
compensation, this idea that, oh, if I spend time doing this or
that, I'm gonna get paid for it. It's just not always true. There
is a building block time and even when you've built your studio or
you've built your company over five years or seven years, you're
still wanting to get to the next level. Well, how do you get to the
next level? Well, you are doing sacrifice all the time. Look at you
and I, like you're doing this incredible podcast for seven years.
I've been in it with you for a year and a half. Right, and one
could say, well, we're not sitting here having dolLaurs flying at
our head on a Saturday afternoon for taking two, three hours of our
time unpaid reLautively unpaid to do this.
06:52 - Anne (Host)
then you have to pay an engineer and an editor, whatever, so
what's?
06:57 - Lau (Co-host)
the return then? Well, the return becomes the belief system that
what we're offering is educational value to our people we love and
adore and care about our client base, our audience, new people
coming in and that of course, to some degree you're going to close
a number of new clients that come in that hear your project, but
guess what? You may not.
07:20 - Intro (Announcement)
And if you may not, if you may not.
07:22 - Lau (Co-host)
That's the risk reward that you take in saying I'm going to take
every Saturday to record, I'm going to pay that editor, no matter
what, I'm going to hire that engineer, no matter what. It's that
sense of jumping off the cliff and saying my career is worth doing,
that I may not always see a dolLaur per dolLaur of time spent and
energy spent, so it's not a tit for tat that way. I think too many
people are looking at it in that way, like, well, what am I going
to get paid for? Every single moment I work and think about this, I
said, well, nothing. You're going to get paid in education, in
value, in reLautionship, whatever. You're not going to always get
the dolLaur bills. Baby, right, just remember that payment is not
always about Money. It's about different value of forces in your
life that come together that sustain a whole career. We don't want
jobs, we want a career. Yeah.
08:20 - Anne (Host)
And I think a lot of assumptions come from the fact if this is the
first time you are getting into voice, acting and creating a
business, it is all about creating a business, which is different
than working for people, where you do tasks and then you get paid
for that. When you are setting up and creating a business, there
are investments that you need to make, and this is a completely
different mindset than oh, okay, I did work and I expect money for
it. Now you're going to have to put work in. You're going to also
invest money. You're going to have to invest money into it. So most
people they have a job. They're not investing money in that job,
they're just receiving money. But here you have to understand that
this is now something that will require an investment of your money
and of your time and of your commitment really to make it work, and
it's not just a one-time thing. I don't want people to think that
as well.
09:11
It's not like oh, I can sink in $10,000 and then I'll have my
career. No, that is something that you need to maintain. You need
to continually invest and reinvest in that business to have growth,
to have any kind of growth, and I think if you sat there with your
business and never invested another cent in it, you're probably not
going to have a business for very long. Right? I like to think of
it as gambling.
09:35 - Lau (Co-host)
It is a gamble. It's a gamble we can do the research, we can do our
homework, we can make ourselves knowledgeable and we can hone our
skills and talent, but it's still a gamble because you're dealing
with a lot of variables that are not in your control. So I like to
say, all right, if you have a pocket and let's say you're going to
stash in, you know you're going to Vegas or something you're going
to stash in $1,000 in that pocket on the left-hand side, that
$1,000, I'm willing to spend and lose, because I know I'm going to
Vegas and I know I'm gambling it and I know that there's a good
chance the house will win and I'll lose it. Then in my other pocket
I've got like $5,000, I'm not spending that, I'm saving that. I
have that as a safety net, I have that as my backup, okay, for my
life.
10:22
Let's say that and I'm not going to spend it unless I absolutely am
up against a wall and would have to. So, from a gambling
perspective, your business is one big gamble. Sure is, you know,
sure is, and I'm only using $1,000 as just a number. It could be
$100,000, but I'm not using $1,000 as a number. I know I'm spending
that, will I get it back into my right pocket? Sure, that's the
question, right? That's the gamble, right.
10:49 - Anne (Host)
That's the gamble. That's the gamble, that's the gamble.
10:52
And that's where I think the investment in commitment right,
commitment to making that business a success right Really comes
into pLauy as well, because it's not just a one-shot deal Let me
just do this because I can do this from home. No, you're going to
make an investment and, of course, we hope that, as bosses, you
enjoy that investment or you're enjoying that creation of a
business and also enjoying the performance aspect of your voice,
acting career. So it's not just performance, it is business,
probably more so almost, than performance. However, performance
affects your product, right. So it then becomes a business because
people are buying your product. Well then, you need to invest in
your product. Your product would be your voice, that would be your
coaching, that'll be your demos, that'll be your marketing, that'll
be your website, anything that's going to get your product out in
front of prospective clients. And again, that becomes investment
and money that needs to be spent by you.
11:48
I'm not quite sure where it's coming from If it doesn't come. Oh,
maybe it could come from other people. If you're lucky enough to
have somebody invest in your business, that is wonderful, but it's
still going to take some cold, hard cash and a lot of you that are
just getting into this need to take a look at your investments and
need to start tracking your finances. And again, I've always said
that the best thing that I've always ever done for my business was
to hire an accountant to help me do that on a day to day basis. So
every bit of money that goes out is accounted for and all the money
that comes in is accounted for, so I can do a P&L statement and
then find out how is my business doing. Do I need to cut back
spending on certain things? Do I need to? Maybe I don't need that
new mic, even though I might want it.
12:34
You don't need that other color pair of headphones, although that's
an investment.
12:38 - Lau (Co-host)
I did you one better, annie, I actually married one.
12:44 - Anne (Host)
There you go, but you got to have a great accountant.
12:46 - Lau (Co-host)
An in-house accountant on your side. You have to have it, it's so
important to say have a great attorney, have a great doctor have a
great accountant.
12:55
It's really important, I would say. Wouldn't you say it's fair to
to say that every year of your business, for however long you own
your business, you are going to have fixed costs always and you are
going to have variable costs always. And to just kind of understand
the difference between the two, so that I hear a lot of talent get
very upset about the fact that their fixed costs are not doable for
them. And I said, well, I can't even talk about the variable cost
to you yet, because you haven't understood and been honest about
your mortgage or your rent or your food or your car, whatever that
fixed every month cost is for you. That's unavoidable. You must
deal with that.
13:40
Then you can deal with the microphones and the demos and all of
that stuff and you're going to have a very peaceful state of mind
to know the most important things are taken care of. Like you and I
have a team, so we hire people all the time, so we have to be able
to pay those people right, absolutely. So if we can't pay those
people, then we can't talk about the upgrade of the microphone or
taking a trip around the world or whatever, because we've got a
certain fixed cost that we are responsible for and that's really
the ownership of a business is really understanding what your
financial, fiscal, health and responsibilities are of your business
on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis really are?
14:24 - Anne (Host)
Absolutely, absolutely. It really comes down to knowing those
numbers and then understanding are you able to handle those
numbers? And if you cannot handle those numbers with the voice of a
career, yet there's nothing wrong. We did a whole episode on side
hustles. There is nothing wrong with a side hustle, or even a
full-time job, until you can get yourself to the point where you
are able to support those fixed costs on a voiceover income and
that is getting increasingly difficult to do in these times, I'm
going to say but not impossible, not impossible. Number one I'm
encouraged by the strike being over and encouraged that I feel that
there's now life being breathed back into the career and the
recognition that we're getting to be compensated fairly for what we
do, and so I'm very encouraged by that.
15:13
And I think that for a while there there was some people that were
scared in the business that we didn't have the influx of newbies
that we typically do for a few months because of it, and I think
what's nice about it is that the cream rises to the top right,
because it's so important now, more than ever that our product
right is something viable and something amazing that people will
pay us for, and so you must, for your business, make that
investment.
15:40 - Lau (Co-host)
Yes, you do. You know, one thing that comes to mind I had
conversation with a couple of colleagues of mine recently kind of
an argument, a friendly argument, about this and it kind of is all
in this mix, annie, of what we're talking about, and that is
because there is so much for free now. Everything is so much
accessible on the internet for free right now. Sometimes talent can
fall into the spiraling rabbit hole, slippery slope of I'm going to
spend my whole day going to free webinars, free zooms, free this,
free funnels, free that, free this, free that, and not get to my
work, not get to actually my business.
16:17
And so I think that when it comes to how you're spending your
money, how you're investing your money, again that goes directly
with your time. Your time is valuable, time is money, time is
money. So be very careful not to over satiate yourself with oh,
I'll just sit and be a professional student and get knowledge all
day long and do the, but not really get to the hard, dirty part of
running the business. Right, I see that is a problem for a lot of
people. They spend every day in accountability groups. They spend
every day in webinars.
16:51
They spend every day because it's so easy, it's so accessible and
it's kind of fun too. You know you're learning and it's fun, but
then their day is blown. Their day is blown and they never really
get to the actual and they don't get to that marketing.
17:05 - Anne (Host)
I'm going to say that's the biggest thing. People like they don't
get to the direct marketing.
17:09
They don't get to their marketing, and marketing encompasses so
much. Marketing is so darn important. In Lauw it's everything, and
I wish that it really is everything. I wish that everybody could
really just appreciate that from the get-go. I mean, I would say
that probably the majority of people that come into this industry
and study for a little bit, get their demo and then don't succeed
are because they have not been effective marketers, and that is
really Like nobody can hire you if they don't know about
you.
17:40
And so that marketing part which nobody likes. It's always the
cLausses that nobody will take at a conference. They're like the
Laust ones that are filled, because they're just not fun, right?
I'd much rather take an animation cLauss or one of those cLausses
rather than figure out how can I run my business better. And it
really is so, so important that you understand the marketing of
your business, because you've got to be able to sell, you do. In
order to be able to recoup and get a return on investment right you
need to sell.
18:16 - Lau (Co-host)
And let's be honest, especially as we get older. I can only speak
for myself, but I know my colleagues feel the same way. I love
sitting in on cLausses.
18:25
When I go to a conference and I'm a speaker all that other time I'm
not speaking. I'm sitting in on cLausses and workshops and meeting
and learning and growing and da-da-da, but it becomes addictive.
You have to be careful. We are not a professional student. We are a
professional voiceover, talent or voice over business owner,
producer what have you? We can be studious, we can be educated and
we can be in professional development, but we're not a professional
full-time student.
18:54 - Anne (Host)
Exactly. But again, I also don't want you guys out there to think
that it's not important to be a student either.
19:00
No, we're always a student or a continual, always learning student
just not one that spends their entire day sitting in on free
webinars or I would say, investment in your demos, investment in
your coaching because, again, something that's going to enhance
your product okay is something that is always worthwhile. It's just
that when you kind of are like, oh no, I'll just sit in on this and
you're not really you're doing it more for the social aspect rather
than the enhancement of your product, I would say, be careful of
that.
19:32 - Lau (Co-host)
And that gossipy water cooler let me be in the in-clicky group is
listen, you're too old for that. I don't care if you're 25 or 55,
you got to get past that. You want to have friends and colleagues?
Of course you do, but it's really got to be. You are a solopreneur.
Until you build your team, you're a solopreneur. The buck stops
there. You know what I'm saying. You said it earlier. You said
about tracking have a tracking system where everything you do,
every webinar you take, every group you join, every membership what
is the return on that?
20:04 - Anne (Host)
at the end of a month or six months, what is?
20:07 - Lau (Co-host)
the return. Are you getting return? I don't necessarily just mean a
financial return. Are you getting an actual return of
reLautionships that have been built, of connections that have been
built, of producers that now know you, or is it just for fun, is it
just for social value? Is it for oh, I'm learning some new tips and
tricks, which I love, but is it applicable to what I'm doing? Is
the question that's.
20:32 - Anne (Host)
The fine line again. You and I both run online groups and we know
the value and the power of having a group. There's a power in
socializing with people with like minds, because we are
solopreneurs and we need that. But also it's kind of like if you
were in an office and you were socializing in your office the whole
day, your boss probably wouldn't be very happy with you.
20:52 - Lau (Co-host)
That's a great analogy.
20:55 - Anne (Host)
There's no productive work being done, so just keep that in mind. I
mean, I think every group has value. Accountability has value,
watercooler has value. My VOPEAPs, my VIPs in your group as well
the Inner Circle they all have their value, but just not
necessarily 24-7, where you're now neglecting the fact that you
probably need to market your business and get some jobs that will
help you to get a return on your investment.
21:21 - Lau (Co-host)
Yes, and understand your budget at the beginning of your quarter.
Set up your budget, however, is comfortable for you, whether it's
quarterly, annually, whatever it is. Set it up and have some
advisory on that, based on what your fixed costs are, so that you
don't feel like you're scrounging for under-the-seat cushions for
the coins by the end of the month. You want to come from a pLauce
of abundance and wealth and fullness.
21:46
You don't want to come from a pLauce of I'm scratching out of
desperation and I'm on my Laust dolLaur. It's very hard to have a
healthy, successful business coming from a mindset like
that.
21:58 - Anne (Host)
Oh gosh, yes, and I will say that my business didn't really fully
take off I've said this before until I really started to feel
comfortable having that little nest egg, that kind of savings
account.
22:09
So when I was able to, I mean, I put away money every single month,
right, and so it's just a consistent thing, so that I have a
business savings account, and when that business savings account
has a certain amount of money in it, I feel confident that I can
take risks, that I can invest in coaching, I can spend money on
things that will help me to get my business known better, and also
I can take some chances and try new technologies.
22:33
I want to emphasize that it's important for bosses to evolve with
the times and evolve with the technologies to help run their
businesses faster and more efficient, because if you're just doing
things still in an Excel spreadsheet or it really depends on what
makes you the most efficient. But there's lots of wonderful
technologies out there that can help you to run your business and
market your business more effectively. And take some time, maybe
learn those, maybe not. Let's not sit in the water cooler right
now, but let's learn how to utilize new technologies that will help
me automate my billing right, or how do I learn QuickBooks, or how
do I learn a new CRM, that kind of a thing. So think of those
things that will also help you to be more efficient in running your
business as well as saving money, so that you're not having to
spend maybe hiring somebody to do that. Maybe you can hire and, if
you are hiring out, make those people more efficient.
23:28 - Lau (Co-host)
Yes, and don't be cheap. Be frugal and economical, but don't be
cheap. You know, when you have your circle considering you and
thinking about you, and thinking about you as a person and also you
as a brand, you want them to feel this richness that there's a
giving to what you do, there isn't a holding back or a holding on
to or being a miser. You have to be very careful of that, because
if we always say this, annie, you and I say this the more you give,
the more potential you have of getting back in return. Yeah,
absolutely. So just give wisely, give wisely, invest wisely. There
you go.
24:03 - Anne (Host)
Wow, love it. All right, guys. Well, bosses, money. Take a cold
hard, look at it and don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of it. Don't
be afraid to invest and strategize. I think the more that you can
educate yourself, the easier it is to make those investments and
the smarter and more efficient your business will be. So, love
that, bosses. Take a moment and imagine a world full of passionate.
Because we are passionate, right, empowered, diverse individuals
giving collectively, as Lauw was just talking about, and
intentionally to create the world that they want to see. You can
make a difference. Visit 100voiceswhocareorg to learn more. Big
shout out to IPDTL, our sponsor. We love IPDTL. You can learn more
at IPDTLcom. Bosses, have an amazing week. We love you. We'll see
you next week. Bye, bye, have a good break.
24:58 - Intro (Announcement)
Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host,
ann Gangusa, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for
our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content,
industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock
your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to
coast connectivity via IPDTL.
25:26 - Lau (Co-host)
How about this? You really, you really moved, that was interesting.
I just need time to process that.