Lesson #6 -

Reinvent Yourself, Part 1

Once upon a time in a land not so far away when radio was magical and exciting, when live personalities were on the air 24 hours a day, and when nobody had ever heard of an anemic thing called “voice tracking” there lived a young man who was living out his dream. That would be me and countless others who were fortunate enough to have experienced the radio of the pre-2000’s era.

Don McLean lamented “the day the music died” in his 1972 hit “American Pie.” The song referred to a 1959 plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Richie Valens. Similarly, a case can be made for “the day radio died.” I can’t tell you when it happened but I’m thinking somewhere around the end of the 90’s.

It’s hard to turn loose of someone, or in this case, something you love. I took that step almost one year ago today. Although ultimately forced out the door in the wave of mass firings in the profession I also saw it as the wakeup call that I needed. It’s not that I didn’t see it coming. The industry had been in decline for most of the 2000’s. I should have made the break a long time before but just couldn’t bring myself to say goodbye.

The question was, “what the heck can I do to replace a sizeable income?” Fortunately, I’m the eternal optimist. I knew I would find something and that life would go on and I would make the best of a frightening situation. Unemployment is no picnic.

As far as transferable skills, I had a boatload. Air personality, program director, manager…. I had worn just about every hat there was to wear in radio. I put together some pretty impressive resumes and signed up with all the major online employment services. There were plentiful job offers, that is, if I wanted to sell insurance or credit card swiping devices. However, radio was not on my list of job possibilities. It no longer offered the outlet for my creativity and the potential that once was so great. I was determined to rekindle my dream elsewhere.

My wife kept telling me to go back to recording commercials. She reminded me that I once made extra cash cutting spots for ad agencies. “Just think what you could do if you went at it full time.”

I began to explore the voice talent market to see what it had to offer. Initially I wasn’t impressed and had pretty much dismissed the possibility. But my wife persisted (as all good wives do so well).

Then I came across Voices.com. Signed up for a free membership, put together a demo, and uploaded it to the site. Nothing happened. Upgraded to a paid membership. Still nothing happened so I dropped my membership. But then I got a call from Hong Kong to record an answering machine message, not just for one business, but for a number of businesses. Then somebody from New York called about an audio book. Another call came from Germany requesting voice talent for a documentary which resulted in one of those “light bulb” revelations. “Voice talent is not just about voicing commercials and it’s not confined to your area of residence!”

One day I woke up to a wonderful reality. The magic and the potential are back. The excitement that I once found in radio is now alive and well in the voice talent industry. I remember a time when I couldn’t pass a radio tower without getting excited. Now my passion for what I do has been reignited with this intriguing and challenging thing called “Voice Talent.”

No, my income isn’t what it was a year ago but it’s getting close. More importantly, I’m doing something that brings me great fulfillment. There’s nothing better than doing what you love.

The jump from radio to voice talent is no small task. It may appear to be an obvious extension of an established broadcast career. To make the leap you have to be willing to reinvent yourself. In my next blog I’ll share some specific things that you can do to “get the Ron out of Ron Radio.” The good news is that it can be done. A famous quote from the movie The Waterboy says it best, “You can do it!”

These lessons have been written by Richard Weirich. 

For help with your voice talent career contact Richard at rw7475@gmail.com or (205) 260-9362. 

Voice Talent coaching services are available.  Initial critiques are free.