Whoa! Where did 2019 go? For me, this year went by super fast, and it certainly didn't get past me without its trials and tribulations. Buying a new house (and oh yeah- selling the old one!), disassembling my cherished VO booth built by my Dad, and laying out plans for a new one, and a new BOSS rebranding! What was I thinking?! :) But it's all good - and it certainly was an amazing growth experience! I had some great successes in 2019 as well, which is one of the reasons I LOVE this time of year! Why? I get to stop, BREATHE, reflect, and most importantly - give thanks. Its a great way to end the year and feel refreshed to start a new and even better year ahead!
You probably have a desire to be a successful (or even MORE successful) voice actor, right? The question is - how are you gonna get there? Baby steps, my friends - and manageable goals! Do you have a perfect vision about what your new year will look like? What do you foresee for yourself? What do you want to accomplish? These can be some heavy questions but I’m here to help you with them one step at a time.
So, you already know you are a BOSS :) because you’re reading this post - and because you run your own business, you know how important goal setting can be. But, I get it, you’re busy. You have jobs to do, clients to please, and bills to pay. Who has time to set goals? I’m here to tell you NOW is the perfect time to start! And it doesn't have to be complicated. As a matter of fact, it can really help to bring you and your business a lot more clarity.
Most people tend to set resolutions at the beginning of the new year. Gyms are overcrowded in January, but by March, a ghost town - and all those well intentioned health goals seem to fall off the radar fr the rest of the year. But goal setting should not just be a new year effort, but rather something you do all year long. This allows you to systematically evaluate your progress so you can allow room for continual growth all year! Here are some simple steps to help you set practical goals that you can actually achieve all year long.
Setting Realistic Goals
Take a long hard look at your voiceover business. Are you just starting out? Do you have a demo yet? Are you full time in voiceover? Do you have other survival jobs? Are you making six figures? You need to have a heart-to-heart with yourself wherever you are in your business. The goals that you make for your business should be based on the reality of your business’s current health. It is unrealistic to think that if you have had just one job in the past six months that you are going to get five new clients every month going forward. You also need to take into account how volatile this business is. Do you have a Plan B? Even if you have recurring clients every month, there is always a chance a commercial campaign can change, the client decides to use another voice, or the project ends. Look at your history and put a number on jobs/new clients you have gained every month. That will give you a realistic picture of what your new goal should be. Next - make sure to write them down! It doesn't need to be anything fancy. Remember these goals are just for you and you are the one that will need to hold yourself accountable. It doesn’t do any good to set a goal that is near impossible to achieve. If you set one that is attainable you will feel much better about yourself and your business when you do reach it.
Give Thanks
Yessssss. Give. thanks. for. everything. The good AND the bad. That is the only way we can stay connected and grow, both personally and professionally. Practicing gratitude can help you to establish a benchmark to help you to see the bigger picture for even more growth. And celebrating your small wins can help you to get to the bigger ones by not giving attention to negative issues, or to those things that could go wrong. Along with the paper you put your goals on, go ahead and jot down those successes too! Since our personal brands are our business too, feel free to put those personal accomplishments in there as well. It all contributes to a healthier mindset. Manifest that success by making sure to give thanks every day!
Don’t Skip the Middle
Along with being realistic about your business and how it corresponds with your goals, you also need to think about how you are going to achieve them. Let’s say you set a goal to land two national commercials in 2020. Great, unless you haven’t booked any commercials...ever. It’s great to think about what you ultimately want, but you need to think about how you are going to get there—work backwards. To get a national commercial, you probably need a reputable agent. To get a reputable agent you need to have some work under your belt first. To get some work under your belt first you need to start marketing yourself. To start marketing yourself you need a stellar demo. Get it? Think about how you are going to get to your ultimate goals and then make those steps your goals instead. Remember, this isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon. And it isn’t even a race. Do things in your own time at your own pace and you will be much happier with the results.
Money Goals
In my recent blog about money blocks, I wrote about how thinking negatively about money can ultimately cripple some people, enough so that they avoid or completely ignore it and end up in a lot of debt. I’m not here to tell you that you have to have goals centered around money, I’m just here to say that if you do, they should be centered around positivity with a general mindset of abundance. Whatever way reduces stress and anxiety.And I totally get it - setting monetary goals can be scary! Try this - Instead of saying, “I want to make X amount of money every month,” turn it around and say, “I want to make X% more money this year than I did last year.” Once you do that, you can divide that percentage by twelve months and see how much more money you can strive to make each month.
State-of-Mind
Goals don’t always have to be a number or statistic—they can be emotional as well. I think it’s important to think about what brings you joy in your career and life in general. If something isn’t bringing you joy, think about how you can fix that. Do you hate doing your accounting and does it take up time where you could be marketing or looking for work? Then maybe you should set a goal to hire a bookkeeper. The money you spend on outsourcing could leave you more time to book more work. Are you wishing you could try another genre of voiceover? Then look into getting coaching for that specific thing.Think about what makes you happy and then craft your goals around that.
Don’t Stress
Goals should not bring you excess tension and stress. Don't set yourself up for failure by creating unrealistic goals that won’t make you happy. Goals are meant to be met. So think about ways you can do that. There is no reason to set the bar so high that it is unattainable for you. And don’t just set goals. Think about how you are going to achieve them. Maybe instead of saying, “I want to get ten new clients every month” say, “I am going to introduce myself to 20 new companies this month.” This is something you CAN control more so than landing clients which is sometimes out of your control.
I hope this gives you a better focus on how to come up with a few goals for your business. Remember - You are the BOSS of your life and of your business. It's time to sit down with a pen and paper and figure out some realistic goals for yourself. But, you don't have to do it alone. Feel free to comment below, or schedule a chat with me to discuss! Let\'s make 2020 the best year yet!
Much love and Keep on rockin' your biz.
XOXO,
About the Author: Anne Ganguzza is a full-time voice talent and award-winning director and producer who works with students to develop their voice over and business skills - including VO demo training and production. She specializes in Conversational Commercial and Narration styles, including Corporate, E-Learning, Technology, Healthcare - Medical, Telephony, and On-Hold. Located in Orange County, CA, Anne offers private coaching and mentoring services to students in person and via Skype, ipDTL or Zoom.