How many of you have written this letter in your heads? For those who haven't yet, here goes:

Dear potential clients,

Please do yourself the favor of not requesting VO talents do your voiceover for less than it costs to buy lunch. I'll spell it out for you below...

There's a minimum amount I need to make to use my time wisely, just like you. To help you determine minimums I'll make a handy guide. First it depends on what you're looking for. Looking for prompt, professional service, handled effectively, efficiently and done right the first time or errors quickly dealt with? Then the minimum amount you should expect to spend is the average cost for a date night - dinner and a movie with a date/spouse/significant other. And yes that includes the wine, popcorn and soft drinks. If the talent is especially good and timely, it includes appetizers, dessert, an apertif and the tip as well. For those who aren't good at math - that means you start at about $100 in the middle of nowhere and work your way up to the national average of about $125-$150 for average middle America, $200+ for metropolitan areas and over $300 for major metropolitan areas. Note I said 'minimum'.  Just like a restaurant, the cheaper the date is, the less the budget will be. If you take a risk with someone who is a beginner, then you cut out portions of the evening as you would on a date that may not be going so well. Let's say you're looking for a meet and greet - maybe a coffee house to see if you even match up, followed by a simple meal if things go well - then we're in the $50-75 and up range. By the same token, if this is a week’s to month’s long project and you want to have me at your disposal – we're talking about the type of budget Richard Gere used in "Pretty Woman" – so several thousand to several hundred thousand. A girl's got to make a living after all.

Do not make the mistake that we are simply speaking or reading. For years, or decades, we have invested time, finances and hard work to craft the words handed to us with skilled delivery. We balance more than just punctuation, motion and energy into our delivery. To learn the difference between our craft and 'reading' - attend your average High School or College English class on the day they are delivering oral reports, or reading aloud. If you think we are speaking, think back to the last conference, corporate training or presentation you attended. Been awhile - I invite you to view this entry in a Toastmasters boring speech entry. It's quite indicative of the 'average speaker': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiBsTwZ9UL0

In addition, we have also invested in purchasing, and learning how to use, equipment and software to insure that you receive a quality product. We make few to no errors, and correct the ones we do. To appreciate the difference in someone who properly uses the equipment in front of them, from someone who doesn't, call your local driving school. Ask to ride along with a few average teenage drivers who have just received their permit and can measure driving time, in hours, with single digits. Our equipment (microphones and mixers), hardware (computers, studio and the other ‘stuff’ that holds and contains everything) and software also require occasional maintenance, repair, updating or outright replacement. We have overhead costs for those– just like your business.

Unless it's a spec project, with a potential payday later, no one will (or should) do your production or voiceover for 'Free'. Not because you can make them 'great business contacts'. Who would want to make business contacts like that? The basis of that introduction would be, ‘Hey use this clown – they did it for free for me.' No thanks. No one will, or should, do your voiceover for the glory of being listed in the credits either - though some of us will do it for a non-profit group or educational purposes. To appreciate this 'free or credits' offer, extend it to an electrician. Ask them to rewire your house for contacts or credits. Would you trust the rewiring job of that electrician? Don't need rewiring? Extend the same offer to a lawyer or accountant. You will, no doubt, receive a cold, hard, stare until you change your mind. The local television or radio station, you may advertise with, may have conned you into thinking that your production, voiceover and music are free. You should know that the bulk of the cost is the equipment & overhead, production music, salesperson's cut and in-house talent expenses (in that order) and only a small fraction is spent on actual 'air time'. In-house talent is also very hit or miss – mostly miss. Just because someone knows enough about the latest and greatest celebrity or music, and how to run the radio station, it doesn’t mean they have anything invested in helping your company succeed. A VO talent has much investment in your company as you are their sole client focus for that moment in time. Radio and TV in-house talents are often doing a 'rip and read' of several commercials in a row - meaning they've never seen or practiced the script before, or looked at a pronunciation guide, and will read them all in a row - with no different inflection on a monster truck ad than a family restaurant ad. Then they (or the production director) will throw the client jingle, or several year old canned music/effects, behind each one and load it, breaths and bad takes often included at no extra charge, for airplay. This is done in a fraction of the amount of time it will take a professional to record your script and believe a few good takes have been laid down for safety - before doing a few more good takes for editing.

We also didn't produce our own demo, those who did are generally easy to point out. As professionals, when we needed our demo created, we hired people to assist us with scripts, use licensed music that's from this era and recorded on equipment that's at least as good as our own. Most professionals are also cautious to not record on equipment that’s so different it's not representative of what we can deliver for you. As part of that process we were pushed hard by a producer, an experience that most VO talent can’t help but hate to love – because it allows us to do even better than we did before those sessions. We also audition constantly. Occasionally that audition is stolen. Occasionally we catch those who steal our auditions and those clients can face civil and criminal penalties – and they also pay much more than we would have originally charged.

By each of use spending wisely on the *right* people for our products, we can both rest assured that we will have a much better chance to reach the people we are seeking, that no one is being taken advantage of and that we both have favorable reputations in our fields.

Today, I'll be talking about a subject that will make some of you itchy.

Yep, I'm going to focus for just a bit on the corporate world, and how the lessons/studies/tracking there can help keep you in the drivers seat in your home office, studio or whatever space you've carved out for yourself in the world.

I can hear many of you now, "Hold on there Mel - I left the corporate world and I don't want to go back." That's OK - I don't want to send you back. Really.
What I want to talk about are some things that are often missing from the Home Office and Home Studio. Think back, why did you start working from home? You, or someone you may know, was sold on the dream of working from home in your pajamas. Why? Not exactly sure - because there's much more to it than that. The issue for many is that they don't really think of their singing, voiceovers or music playing as a business. You want to enjoy what you're doing and just have the money roll in. Maybe you heard the old saying, "Do what you love and the money will follow"...

Well - you're doing what you love, so...

Why is this falling further into the hobby category?

Where's the money?

What's missing?

One word sums it up - Accountability.

To be accountable simple means; "to be responsible for an action".

Another word that ties in is Discipline, but not the meaning we tend to think of. Discipline can mean punishment, but here we're talking about an "activity, exercise, or regimen that develops or improves a skill."

When you look at those interpretations of Accountability and Discipline, and combine them into; "To be responsible for an action or regimen that develops or improves a skill" it shifts away from the negative - into a positive way to build knowledge and rewarding behavior.

Accountability and Discipline are two terms few may still want to look at. But it may the difference between the hobby and a business. A Hobby is somewhat self rewarding. You sit down, you do something for a short while  and work toward completion of a project. Once it's done, you pat yourself on the back, tell a few friends over a glass of beer, wine or dinner and think of it as time well spent. Maybe you even made a buck.

For a business, however, it's not exactly the same. Though those routine goals can still be very rewarding - there needs to be a bigger picture. Think of it as time spent, and time well spent. When you had money as a kid - there were two options. 1 - Save money for that new bike or, 2 - Spend it on candy and comic books. Of course, there's also option 3 - Save 50% toward the bike and spend 50% toward candy and comic books. When you have enough money - you go buy the bike. Accountability and Discipline helped you reach that goal, but it's not really as simple as that though - is it?

Part of why it's so difficult is that people get hung up on how to keep track of things and what to keep track of. Can you wait three years to buy the bike, or do you want it in six months? How will that bike help you? Will it cost more than it gains in the long run? Maybe you decided to follow metrics to see how you're doing, but that's not right either. To paraphrase, "Using metrics is like driving a car by looking at where you're been to direct where it is you're going."

So where did I get this quote - from FranklinCovey's Four Disciplines of Execution. Years of research on Accountability and Discipline went behind this program. There are some eye opening statements in the videos located on the Franklin Covey website about the topic. One of them is by looking strictly at 'metrics', or something that you may prefer to call Performance Measurement. Now those metrics can be valuable, but - just because 500 people visited your site, or listened to your demo - doesn't mean you'll get hired unless you are sure that the people listening are the right people. And what about follow up?  If you aren't practicing Accountability and Discipline - are you even following up? Are you waiting too long to follow up or, even worse, are you following up too frequently?

As you watch those videos, take some notes that pertain to you. Then take that list and look at the basic areas of your growing hobby, home business or studio you are operating. Ask yourself not only what 's most important, but why:

1. Goals - What are you working toward?
   
2. Budgets - Not just expenses, but what will you do with profits?
   
3. Motivation - What motivates you? Money? Seeing the impact your work?
   
4. Rewards - Are you rewarding yourself?
   
5. Education - If you aren't learning, something isn't right!
   
6. Improvement - How can you do what you're doing better?
   
7. Evaluation - How do you know you're being effective?
   

One very simple way that you may be able to get all of this done is with software built for for Customer Relationship Management aka CRM. Many of these above challenges are built right into the software. The great thing is - many CRM solutions are FREE! Now, of course, some of those free versions can be a bit limiting, so look them over and see what you believe your needs are. From ZoHo to Insightly, Really Simple Systems, Karma and more (Small Biz CRM has a good list) you can use many without any cost, or apply add ons for a small fee.

One great way is with applications that plug into Google Apps. I have worked with several clients who own a domain and use the clunky email interface from their webhost. But - if you sign up for a Free Google Apps account, instead of a paid business account, you can have easy access to email for a few users for free. Google even walks you through the whole process. The bonus - your CRM application may integrate right into your Google Apps account - and it's all in one easy to remember, easy to access, spot. Other systems plug right in too - so you can have an easy way to build newsletters, send out emails to new prospects and more. One thing to remember, don't go crazy - look over the options, find one of two that might work for you, and test them. Do a trial run with a few - see how you like it. Personal preference is key - so make sure you find the one that works best for you. Don't put valuable information into them until you find one you like.

Now, admittedly - I made a comment above about working in your PJ's. The reality is - I researched and wrote this article in mine - but my mentality is never about being in my PJ's - I just jumped on the computer with my notes for this article early in the morning and never left until it was finished (except to grab a cup of coffee when it finished brewing). The good thing is, I can wear my PJ's and remain motivated. It's all simply because I keep track of what's going on, hold myself accountable, practice discipline and get the job done. It's really it's own reward - the benefit is that I hear back from others that what I teach them is working for them as well. Armed with some tools, and a dash of inspiration, it may work for you too! If nothing else, you'll know more about being accountable, and about being disciplined. The corporate mentality doesn't need to enter my home or yours, but learning how to operate more efficiently and 'work smarter not harder' is welcome anytime as far as I'm concerned.

For those who are struggling, you can hire us at Your Audio Pro on as your own personal coach. We'll help start you down this path, build some goals and hold you accountable while you set things into place. It might surprise you how a simple goal can quickly grow your hobby into an income generating business.

All the best, from  Mel and the rest of the Your Audio Pro team.