Comments

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  Dawn Harvey October 26, 2010 at 2:21am

  Hey everybody. I had a logo design contest running for the past week in regard to my new VO brand. The finalists have been selected. Do me a favour? Go to the attached link and vote for your favorite one. Remember that further changes are allowed so if you like one but think it would be better if it just had some minor tweaking, drop me a note with your ideas. Thanks for your help all!
  
  http://99designs.com/logo-design/vote-jbg4pc
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  Dan (Daniel Eduardo) Hurst October 24, 2010 at 7:25pm

  HA! Yup, very weird. It just goes to show that it's really important to stay connected with your clients and figure out what they're looking for. These folks didn't want to get rid of me...they just wanted, as they said, "a different flavor" for their spots.
  
  Well...we're voice actors...that's what we do...offer different flavors.
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  Dawn Harvey October 24, 2010 at 7:09pm

  OMG - that's the funniest thing I ever heard Dan. Guess they had it right in the first place!
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  John Melley October 24, 2010 at 4:45pm

  Stwange Dan.... Vewy vewy stwange indeed. Are congwatuwations in owdah?
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  Dan (Daniel Eduardo) Hurst October 24, 2010 at 1:18am

  I had one of the oddest things happen this week. An agency calls and says they have a client that wants to change their VO, and would I do an audition. Sure, says I. They send me the copy. It's a current client of mine. I don't say anything. They tell me what kind of read they want. I do it and send it in.
  
  Yup...you guessed it. The client hired me.
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  Susan Walkenhorst October 20, 2010 at 8:33pm

  I do not do work for non-profits for free, but I do give them 15% discount - if they request it, which I just put in their quote. That way I still get the business, and they can keep doing what they do! Budgets for non-profits are notoriously thin and with the economy it's even worse. Give it some thought next time a non-profit is looking for voice-work!
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  Dan (Daniel Eduardo) Hurst October 19, 2010 at 9:25pm

  I just fell in to something really cool here in Kansas City. Dunno if there is anything like this in your neck of the woods, but there is no reason you couldn't spearhead something like this.
  
  This organization is a a bunch of creatives - graphics, video, copywriters, etc that offer their services at a reduced rate to not-for-profit organizations that are focused on our community. Is this not brilliant?!?!?!
  
  These non-profit organizations are doing great work and desperately need to get their story out. These creative types help them tell their story...primarily to help them with their fund-raising. About 90% of them have no national affiliation but are still an extremely active part of the community.
  
  It's a GREAT way to give back to your community...develop some awesome connections...and make a difference in so many lives. And although you won't get rich off of something like this, at least there is some compensation - generally about 50% of your normal rate.
  
  Check into it. Check with some non-profits in your area to see if there is something similar that they know about. If not, ask them if they could use some help along that line.
  
  Go make a difference and expand your horizons!
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  Ken Maxon October 19, 2010 at 5:01pm

  Al, I don't disagree with the math and the need to charge more. I have posted in places about lower paying jobs and the people that take them. What I've always said is that you have to get known before you get those jobs. No one ever walked into Coca Cola got the CEO's position right out of high school. They worked their way up the ranks.
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  AL B Conahan October 19, 2010 at 4:56pm

  I'm going to quote Mr Hurst from a recent email..."We all have different talents and abilities, and there are far more clients than there are voice talents". With that being said, we all need to assert our place in the big picture. Take stock of our worth as it were.
  
  This is fun work for me because of the creative aspects of the advertising and entertainment business. I receive personal gratification from creating a product which equates to my worth as an artist. The part I like is the fun of the work, getting paid well to do it is just the frosting on the cake. Now the more you are willing to pay me means you understand and appreciate my willingness to work hard for you. I don't know who said it but I will repeat it here... "If it was easy everyone would do it"
  
  Now, I don't have a head for numbers but 10 to 12 billion roughly estimated dollars to be spent this year on VOs, spread over the 4600 members here on VU and times it by 10 if you like to include all the rest in the world, is a lot of money. My question to all of you is... of this amount of money, how much of that pot are you worth?
  
  Phil Banks put in perspective not too long ago. Banks’ math…" Most people need to set their production schedule based on 3 sessions per week and factor in 6 dead weeks per year. All they then have to do is divide what they need to make per year and divide it by 138. Stops them messing with $40 jobs".
  
  If you want to see my first paying gig since relaunching my VO career, go to www.berniniart.com . It was not a giveaway. And I've been hired to do more for the project as I write this .
  albc
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  Brent Halfyard October 19, 2010 at 12:11pm

  I had a client contact me from Italy who loved my voice and needed me for three lines but had no budget-zero. I said I could do it for $100 as a favor. He couldn't believe I'd charge $100 for a few lines! I couldn't believe his arrogance and ignorance of the trade of voice over. Always better to go a bit high and potentially lose the job than to kill yourself for a few bucks 9 or do a freebie!) . We want clients who value us a professionals.