Your Next Client Could Be Sitting Next To You

When you're a voice actor, keep your business cards on you at all times. You never know where that next client is going to come from. I was on a flight to NYC and sat next to a creative director of an advertising agency. We hit it off, as we were both fans of the same sports team and had similar tastes in music. He asked what I did for a living. When I told him I was a voice actor, his eyes lit up! "I just so happen to be working on a client project that needs a voiceover," he said. It was an eLearning project and we chatted for about 30 minutes before the plane landed. Thankfully, I had my business cards on me. I gave him one, shook his hand and we went departed from the plane.

A few months went by and I didn't hear back from my prospective VO buyer. At this point, I was just grateful I met a good contact in the business. Then, a few days later, my iPhone rang. It was him! He said the project was a go and that he needed me to voice several different modules for a car company. By several, he meant hundreds and it turned out to be one of my biggest eLearning narration gigs of all time! If I hadn't had a business card on me, I probably wouldn't have gotten the gig. He scanned the QR code on my business card and listened to my demos to determine if my voice and delivery were a good match for the project he was working on.

At times, you may be tempted to leave your business cards behind. Especially on trips that are more for leisure than business. Don't give in to that temptation. Instead, take your business cards wherever you go. The grocery store, airport, road trip, etc. You never know who your client will be. Maybe they're sitting next to you on a plane right now!