Looking back at my 2021 year in voiceover

Time to reflect on 2021...

It's been a wobbly last week of January 2022 with a job on pencil cancelling altogether (I know it happens but not had that in a while!) and general aches and pains of trying to set up systems that I know in the long run will pay off for my VO business...but bloody hell - it's been a boring admin/spreadsheet formulas/CRM data input kind of week.

Not why you get into voice over is it? BUT really important to keep things ticking over, save time in the long run, and most importantly - grow.

Marc Scott has an excellent podcast called Everyday VOpreneur and he mentions the importance of reflecting on your achievements each year. It's not something I'd got around to doing yet. I'd set all my 2022 goals without looking at last year's successes to draw on for a whole other pool of motivation.

So I looked through what I've done and it's really helped me regroup, take a breath and really see how hard work does pay off. I booked and recorded my first lead role in a video game which really blew me away and far exceeded my goals in video game voiceover niche for the year. It was also so fun to record and challenging. It helped me grow as an actor and was my favourite project as voice actor to date. (I’ve sworn not to say yet what game it is yet because game developers are just like that…very secretive! But it comes out next month). I booked another national TV commercial. I worked on my first animation TV pilot - fingers crossed it gets the green light for a 52-part series this year. The Forgotten City and Disco Elysium THE FINAL CUT games came out to critical acclaim, winning loads of awards. The success of my last 18-months in voiceover definitely justified the leap I took into full-time voiceover just as I finished maternity leave and You-Know-What hit the world... Phew! That was a gamble.

It’s now time to keep the momentum going. Yes that means lots of slow building with direct marketing (which I’ve just started and is something I’m really going to have to be consistent at to keep things growing) and refining my admin systems * snore *. There might not be an instant pay off, and it may be a real grind at points...but I know at the end of THIS year it'll be worth it.

[In my personal life I’m going through another slow grind kind of process with doing the Couch to 5K NHS program. I’m training for a 5K Race For Life later this year with a bunch of online mum mates in London. I’m LOVING IT. Only 3 weeks in but already feeling fitter in ways that just doing yoga and walking for exercise wasn’t achieving. I’d been put off running for many years because of the effect it had on my chest but my recent mild Asthma diagnosis actually helped me understand why outdoor running has always been a struggle for me. So being treated for that, having a reliever inhaler to hand for when I need it, and teaming up with friends to train slowly but surely with Couch to 5K has been brilliant for my confidence when it comes to running. But anyway, back to voiceover…!]

Here's a bunch of clients I worked for over the last year. Some absolute dream clients in there and projects I'm really proud of working on. No, I'm not working on an amazing game right now, and I don't have a TV commercial in the pipeline etc. But I know that hard work will help make it happen, just got to keep grinding on...