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Anxiety & Progress: My Personal
Journey To Full-Time Voice Acting
By Bob Souer
Voice Actor
 Fear can be a good thing. It can help you avoid situations that are truly harmful, keeping you away from the edge of the cliff. But anxiety - groundless fears about what “might” happen - is never good.
Is it always right to jump at an opportunity with both feet? Obviously not. Sometimes the risks really aren’t worth the potential rewards. The way the economy has been the last couple of years has frightened a lot of people.
Some of my very good friends have been kicked to the curb by companies for which they productively worked for years.
But this can be a great time to start something new, especially if you have nothing left to lose.
MORE CLEAR NOW ...
Looking back at the 26 years it took me to go from my first professional voice-over job to full-time voice-over talent, I can clearly see there were four wide-open doors of opportunity that I didn’t take. There’s no way for me to wind back the clock and take the other path, so I can’t know for certain how things would have turned out if I’d gone the other way.
But I can, with 20-20 hindsight, see those doors even though at the time they weren’t always clear.
DOOR NUMBER 1
The first was in 1988. I had actually been working solo as a voice-over for a year while caring for my first wife, Kathy, as she was losing her battle with cancer.
But when I was offered a job a few months after her death I took it, rather than continuing to just do the voice-over thing.
I had a daughter to raise and provide for, and my mindset at the time was that I needed something more stable and predictable.
10 YEARS LATER ...
The second door appeared at the end of 1993 - but I didn’t see it at the time. The network for which I was working had just been sold to a new corporate owner. This new corporation was about to offer me a very nice option to freelance for them, continuing to host two weekly music programs.
Within two months I would have replaced virtually all of my full-time network income.
And there were many opportunities on the horizon that would have allowed me to grow my business.
STILL, A DOUBT
One of my very best friends, Charlie Glaize, strongly encouraged me to take the voice-over path.
But even with all that, I didn’t see the door of opportunity for what it was, and instead took the first job offer that came my way.
However, here’s where it gets a little complicated. PRIZED RELATIONSHIPS
Having taken that job offer in Pittsburgh, I ended up meeting some of my very best friends, working with The Talent Group, and working for the best boss I ever had (make that second best boss, now that I’m working for myself).
So, had I taken the voice-over path back then, I would have missed all of those wonderful relationships.
THE THIRD DOOR
The third was in 1999. Things had really taken off with my part-time voice-over business, and I was making quite a bit more money doing voice-overs than I was at the radio station where I was working. This time I could see the door clearly.
But, as noted above, I had a great boss.
He and I talked at length about things, and he suggested caution.
“Take another year,” he said, “and see how things go. If they continue to grow, you can always make this move then. If they don’t, you’ll be glad you stayed with something more stable.”
It was prudent advice, as the strike of 2000 put a big dent in my voice-over business.
MOVE OR STAY?
The fourth and final missed opportunity was in 2003. I had gone to work for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in 2001 - in part because my wife Cinda and I had been looking for years for an opportunity to live close to family, and pretty much everyone in my family lived in Minnesota where the association was headquartered.
But two weeks after I started work there, the association announced it would be relocating to Charlotte, NC in 2003.
I had an option to take a severance package and stay in Minnesota, or to move to North Carolina and continue to work for the association.
WHAT TO DO?
Here again, I could see the opportunity clearly, but I was also very cautious.
My time in Minnesota hadn’t yielded new voice-over clients there. And my business was still recovering from the double hits of the strike in 2000 and the move to a new city the following year.
Here again, there were a number of wonderful learning and relationship opportunities I would have missed if I hadn’t moved with the association to Charlotte.
MADE RIGHT CHOICES?
I started this long screed talking about fear and anxiety. Looking back, I can see clearly that more than once I allowed my anxieties overwhelm me about what might happen, and push me along a path away from my dreams.
Of course, sometimes my caution turned out to be well founded. And in every case, there were significant benefits to taking the path I did.
FOLLOW WORTHY DREAM
No doubt, your journey is unfolding with a few bumps and turns you didn’t anticipate. But it’s your journey. Each path is unique. Mine certainly was.
If your dream isn’t worth pursuing, change direction. Find one that is.
And once you find the dream that is worthwhile, keep moving toward it. You’ll get there.
It might take you 26 years like mine did, but I hope it’s a lot less.
ABOUT BOB ...
Bob Souer has been a voice actor for over 26 years, helping an array of faithful clients tell their “stories” through commercials, narrations, podcasts, e-learning, promos, imaging - you name it. He also posts a highly informative daily blog about voice acting, The VoiceOver Boblog.
Email: bob@bobsouer.com
Web: www.bobsouer.com
Bobblog: http://bobsouer.com/blog
Your Daily Resource For Voice-Over Success
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Thanks for sharing....
Ernie
Thanks for sharing! What a fantastic journey you have taken. As the saying goes, and you mentioned it, "hindsight is 20/20." Does that ever apply to the business we are in. I have often wondered about the decisions I have made, and what the circumstances would have been, had I made different choices. Certainly no regrets, but just to wonder about them once in a while con be interesting. Great story Bob. Keep up the great work!
Joseph
You need not quit your job. Get flex hours. Work four days a week instead of six, get that computer outfitted inexpensively as a studio and audition and do VO jobs on it.
Sell clients yourself. You are a salesperson, not just a voice. Be resourceful. One of my students won a client, a car dealer, who pays $1400 each month allowing him to work less as a telephone rep.
It can be done. Figure out how and do it. Otherwise, you'll look back with regret. Doors open. Do you see them or close them? Steady pay? Nothing is steady. You can be let go in a flash. When you're self-employed, that's Security because you can''t quit. See?
Great story, Bob, and inspiring as always. Thank you. I'll share with my students starting this weekend at my New Orleans seminar.
Mark
Thanks so much for sharing your personal journey. There have been many times I've been ready to toss in the towel. Your story has strengthened me and reminded me that I should lean on the Author of my life a lot more.
Be Blessed,
Nelson
"Fear" in it's many forms (other than the ones that preserve life and limb) are killers to progress, purpose, creativity and on and on.
AS
What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I had a similar path of events that, unfortunately, while profitable, took me away from using my voice for a living. It took several years for me to get back on track and I haven't looked back since.
-JCD-