Weekly VO Workflow: A Bit About Budgeting

The onslaught of post-Thanksgiving “Black Friday” sales announcements started showing up in my inbox on November 1st of this year. This seemed odd since my calendar still shows that particular date to occur later in the month. Everyone loves to get out ahead of the competition, which has led to a cascade of “special early-bird savings” emails. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and excited in equal measure.

While this all reminds me of how glad I am not to be working in the retail sector any longer, it exposes one of the levers that many companies use. Those businesses know that most of us have a discrete amount of money available to purchase things. If they can get you to spend it with them, they come out ahead. They also know that most folks don’t really analyze this year’s expenses until the end of the year. As the saying goes, “I may be broke, but look at all the money I saved…”

Although it may be cool to get an amazing deal on a new microphone, will that really help your VO business in the long run? This is one of those moments where thinking strategically can pay larger dividends.

Think about the ongoing expenses related to your voiceover business. Could you reduce costs on any current services you use? We often slide into subscriptions because the monthly amount seems trivial. But those innocuous monthly expenses can end up being death by a thousand cuts. Could you pay for a full year to save money? Things like web hosting, subscription apps like Zoom, or ongoing services often give a discount if you make an annual payment. That reduces costs your business already has.

Even though the newest latest/greatest version of some key software is popping up with a significant discount, the slightly-not-current version may be working just fine. For example, this week Izotope began highlighting my “Loyalty” upgrade offer for RX11. While the $120 upgrade price is pretty compelling, there’s really no issue that the new version solves for me. RX10 is working well enough that I can keep that cash in my pocket, or choose to use it elsewhere.

Taking a moment to consider your business priorities will serve you well. What would help you the most right now? For the next six months? Over the next year? It might be that investing in next level coaching, dialing in a studio workflow, or outsourcing those things that impede your focus is most important. If you suddenly are swamped by audiobook mastering projects, maybe it’s a better computer or finally automating that declicking or denoising with an effective software tool. Or, it could be investing in that new microphone that lets you bring that extra bit of swagger into your reads.

Have you tested your studio’s audio quality to make sure it meets professional standards? For a free review of your vocal recordings, please use the upload tool on my Audio Review page.

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