Your time as a business owner is valuable. When you quote a job, you're essentially selling your time and expertise. Only you know how much your time is worth. The question is, what are your boundaries? Are you willing to say no.
One of the biggest lessons in the voiceover business. - 9:41
Hey guys, welcome to another episode of The Gift of Gab. I am really excited about today's topic because, as I'm sure you guys know by now, I love, love, love getting feedback from all of you. I love when you give me comments on videos, I love when you write to me, send me emails, ask me questions because, guys, that's why I do this, right? The whole reason The Gift of Gab even exists is because I want to give you the gift of these techniques and my knowledge and these things that I've learned over the years, okay? It really is all about community.
And so today, I have a write-in, and we're going to talk about it. Stick around.
Okay, so full disclosure, I forgot to denote who wrote this. I know, I suck. Okay, this came to me in an email. I copied and I pasted it, and I didn't paste the person's name. So, I'm so sorry about that. But if this is you, we're going to address this situation today, and hopefully, this helps.
The person started out by saying, 'So that book offer I told you about, I quoted them way above their initial offer and was hoping to do some counter-offering, but they didn't. And they finally gave me a thanks, but no thanks. I know I'm still learning, but it bummed me out. I guess I'm having to learn what I'm willing to work for, and this has been a learning experience. For that reason, but I'm still really bummed. I wish I had started lower.'
Wow, my first reaction to this was, we have to be willing to say no. That is an essential part of any business. I mean, truthfully, it's an essential part of life. The word 'no' is a great word. It is your friend, and far too many of us fall into people-pleasing categories where we just forget to use it. No is not bad. No doesn't always put a stop to everything. No is just you setting boundaries, and boundaries are healthy. Rates that you quote right may very well result in a client passing, and that is perfectly okay because when you quoted that rate, you were quoting your time, your expertise, your value, your cumulative knowledge, the gear that you have invested in, the education that you have invested in, everything that you have done thus far to make yourself prepared to work as a professional in this industry. If somebody isn't willing to pay what you're worth, bye. I mean, it's that simple. I have no problem walking away from work like that.
Now, people will also say, of course, but Gabby, you've been doing this a really long time. Like, you can afford to do that. I can't do that yet. Not entirely true. I have been passing and turning on work since day one. My business model is set up. I refuse to lowball. I refuse to take the shitty offers. I refuse to work for less than what I know I'm valued at. And so, I've always done that. Now, this is not to say, right, that my rates have not increased over the years. Of course, they have. But at every stage in my career, I was aware of my worth at the time and where it stood, and that is one of the most valuable lessons we can learn.
Since this person was originally talking about a book, I want to take this opportunity to introduce you guys to someone. This is my new channel sponsor. And now, look, you know me, okay? You know that I do not have sponsors on this channel. You know I don't sell you. You know that I don't introduce you to a bunch of garbage very simply because I have yet to find something up until now that I felt was valuable enough to the voiceover community that it needed to be shared.
I want to introduce you today to Pozotron. Pozotron is a company that approached me about something entirely different, and I did a little research on them, immediately reached out to them, and went, 'Holy crap, do I want to work with you guys?' They are one of, I think, poised to be, um, one of the single most valuable tools that a voice actor is going to have in their Arsenal in the next decade. If you go to Pozotron.com, you'll be able to check out a bunch of information about them. You'll be able to check out their videos, check out their YouTube channel, which has a ton of information on it.
But I'm going to give you the short version. It is an AI-based platform that is all about the human integration. Basically, you are in control, and what Pozotron does is takes all of the elements of audio, AUD book, and long-form narration that can be really complicated—checking on pronunciations for scripts, editing and proofing your mistakes, inserting retakes into your audio—pretty much all of those things that if you've ever worked on a book, you know are the time suck and the very thing that makes a book way more cumbersome than it has to be. Pozotron gets rid of all of that, which is incredible. So, please, please, please, I want you guys to go to Pozotron.com, check out their material. If you use my promo code, which you'll see in the link below and in the bio and you'll be able to find it all over the place, that link is going to give you seven free hours of use of their product. That is enough time to complete an audiobook. It's the average length. Take a look, use the code, get yourself set up. Now, here's the cool part, right? Let's say you don't have a book project happening right now. No sweat, no biggie. Pozotron will go ahead and extend your trial as long as necessary for you to use those seven hours. They are amazing. Their customer service is incredible. Their owner is awesome. I've spoken to him many times, and yeah, I really think this is going to be a game-changer for all of us.
Back to my friend and their little dilemma with this book project. My number one piece of advice to this person is, what can you do with the time that book would have taken, right? To record it, to edit it, to proof it, to do all the things that will have a greater long-term yield for your business. Don't see it as a loss or don't focus on the perceived loss. Focus on the gain. You gained that time. You have that ability now to invest that time in a way that can have a much greater impact on your everything, right? On your business long term. That's what matters.
And I'm going to tell you guys something, and this is what's crazy. The longer you're at this and the more bookings you have, the harder it becomes to find the time to market yourself. The harder it becomes to find the time to get out there and research new clients and new potential avenues of revenue because our bookings, ironically, get in the way of that. So now is the time to cultivate those relationships and poise yourself for the future so that hopefully, you'll be in the same boat where one day you'll be going, 'Oh my God, I wish I had the time to go back and do those things because I don't have it anymore.' Good problems to have.
Reach out if you have questions for me. I am always available for anything related to the business side of voiceover. It's literally kind of my jam. It's what I love. I hope this helps, guys. If you want more tips and tricks like this, check out this video, send me a message on socials, whatever you prefer. Hopefully, we'll chat soon. Take it easy.
704-674-8294 / GabrielleNistico.com / gabby@voiceovervixen.com
Gabrielle Nistico, Gabby Nistico, The Voiceover Vixen, The Business First VO Coach, #VoiceoverVixen #VoiceOnFire #BusinessFirstVOCoach Voiceover, Charlotte, North Carolina, Voiceover Demo, Voiceover Coaching Advice, Working Actors, Los Angeles, New York, voiceover booth, recording studio, acting space, concerts, acting advice, Pozotron, marketing