POLL: How did 2009 treat you?

[Scott Pollak]

I've mentioned elsewhere here that my business was down 17% in '09, but for the first week and a half of January, I'm where I was at the THIRD week of FEBRUARY for last year. I can only hope this continues, and I hope the same for you guys, too.

[PChristy]

This probably belongs under its own topic, but has anyone else noted a draught in work from the pay-to-play sites? I was getting a couple jobs per week late last year from Voices.com, but I've now gone over a month with *zero* gigs. Did I suddenly start sucking hugely at auditions, or.....?

[feverpa]

Well 2009 was good for me. I still have a lot of room for growth, but I picked up a couple of clients who will be (have already proven to be) repeat customers.

I've actually started working regularly enough that I wish I had more time to audition for more work. It's not like I'm rolling in the money (I probably have more limited time available to do my voice work than most), but I worked more steadily in '09 and got way more work when clients called me - instead of my having to audition.

If I commit the necessary time in 2010 to consistent auditioning, time for VO work, etc - I'm confident it will be my best year ever.

[Anthony Williams]

$34,150 is what i claimed on my taxes for 2009 doing it part time

[haneen]

2010 started on a sour note when I lost one of my better imaging clients--Air America--which went bankrupt. Frankly, it wasn't a good omen. But, lo and behold, that dent in my billing was replaced this week by a new retainer client from which I will earn about the same. It was a good reminder for me not to get too bummed about any one gig.

My 2009 went like this: Lose a client, gain a client, gain a client...the economy has been tough, but I manged to come out ahead. I hustled, and actually earned about 20% over 2008.

What's the line from "Mad Men"? Something like, "The day you sign a client is the day you start losing them."
We all want to get more work, but losing clients is part of the job, too. (This is a pep talk for myself, jsut as much as for anyone else.)

Here's hoping we all come out ahead in 2010.

[PierceVoice]

Last year I unofficially launched my voice over business with some serious steps (becoming an official DBA sole proprietorship, investing in lessons, equipment, time in learning website creation)...

I was shocked when things picked up early 09-- by April I had made the equivalent of '08's vo income... by the end of the year I'd far surpassed early "guesstimates".

And what did I SPEND on voice over? Yeah... that sounds about right.


What did I do that I'm most proud of:

• I obtained good health insurance after LOTS of research. It's actually a "group" plan with rates to match. The group? Just me & my wife. It's a Group of One Plan available in many areas for sole proprietors. Not all ins companies offer. Call local agents for help.

• Had a complete mental overhaul by Nancy Wolfson. She's crazy-good.
  Spoke with, and was guided by the incredible Marice Tobias.
  Met more super famous voice actors thru these amazing interwebs.

• Made it into a video game, on national tv and radio, and even onto big corporate websites. Heck, check me out on radio & tv for Kulacom next time you're in the country of Jordan

Now SO open-minded about taking risks, that I can't imagine what will happen this year. And, doods, if I can do it... any half-hack can pull this off with some work!

Seriously, though... Good Luck to Us All.

[Greg Houser]

For all the folks complaining about how the economy hurt their VO business, I had the opposite situation.

The big thing to me this year was the amount of "fishing" that occured. I expected it with the launch of the Website, blog, and all that, but I got more folks who would call out of nowhere, ask for a quote and then disappear back into the woodwork. At times it was more than a bit frustrating to try and get folks to return phone calls, etc. but eventually I'd just shoot an e-mail, follow up with a phone call, and if they didn't respond... move on.

One disturbing trend I am noticing though is the amount of companies (and I don't mean mom & pop shops) that are in-sourcing their VO. It seems to be a trend as of late so that the larger companies can save money. On the upside, the quality of those projects has been poor enough that the folks who felt it was a good idea have decided that it was an idea they care not to repeat in the future.

2010? Somehow I don't think I'll have as much profit as 2009, but I'm also sinking some major $ into building a new studio in the new house (once I find one I'm happy with).