subject: Your Voiceover Business - How Accountable are you? [print this page] As voice over talents, we naturally want to succeed, and continue to progress and move forward in our careers. If you seem to be stalled in your career path, one question you might want to ask yourself is just how "accountable" are you in your own business? Accountability means that you are answerable for your actionsand inactions. As a voice artist with a home-based business, there is usually only one person to answer to - yourself! If you think about it, anyone with full or part time job is accountable to others - it keeps themon track and on task. Shouldn't we be just as accountable in our work?
One method of establishing accountability that I have found to be very helpful is to start by simply writing down your goals, both short and long term. Sound cliche? Maybe, but it really does help! Once you have an idea of what you want to accomplish, you will have a clearer concept on how you can grow your business. Your goals can be as simple as:
organizing your VO contact list
finally signing up for that Pay-to-Play site that you have been talking about joining for months
updating your online profile
joining twitter (do it already!) and following other VO artists
creating a professional Facebook page for your business
attending a new VO workshop, or getting personalized coaching
Equally important in establishing accountability is to also develop a system to document and track your progress. This doesn't have to be complicated. Keep a journal handy in your studio or use the notes or task list in your favorite email program. One of my own goals consisted of auditioning for at least 15 voice over jobs per week. It was easy to write down as a goal, but a bit difficult to track, as my auditions came from many different sources. I ended up creating a simple database that recorded the date, company name, and project title. I was then able to easily generate reports to track my progress and see if I had achieved my weekly goal.
Even with the best of intentions, answering to yourself can oftentimes be a bit of a challenge. Sometimes, the best way to force yourself to be accountable is to be accountable to a group. Pick a group of friends that you see regularly and tell them about your goals and keep them updated each time you get together. Even better, find a group of like-minded professionals, such as a local meetup group, and have a round table discussion where you each state your goals and report on your progress at each meeting. You'll be amazed at how motivated you'll be to accomplish those tasks before the next meetup! Mylocal VO Peeps group will be implementing this practice at the next gathering.
Keep in mind that once you have developed your own accountability system, you shouldn't be afraid to revise and update as needed. Your goals should change and grow as your business grows! Being accountable includes an obligation to further your goals, pursue excellence, and puts *you* in control of your career. Best of luck and I wish you all much success!
Your Voiceover Business - How Accountable are you?
By: Anne Ganguzza
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