THE VO BUSINESS SURVEY
A self-check for the business side of your voice over work
A lot of time and attention in VO goes into the craft between reads, demos, studio sound, and performance technique. That makes sense. It's the visible part of the work, and often the part that feels most natural to invest in.
The business side tends to get built later, and usually in pieces. This guide is a practical way to step back, take stock of where things stand, and figure out where a bit of attention might make the day-to-day easier.
25
Honest questions
5
Business areas
Free
No catch
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The guide looks at five areas that tend to have the most bearing on how a VO business runs day to day — pricing, client process, systems and admin, new business, and the longer-term foundations. For each one, it asks a few direct questions and suggests somewhere useful to start if you find a gap worth addressing.
It's not designed to be a complete blueprint. It's designed to give you a clear picture of where things stand, so you can decide where it makes sense to focus.
Five areas - One honest picture
Each section is built around a set of practical questions rather than a checklist of things you should already be doing. The aim is to surface what's working, what could be simpler, and what might be worth looking at without assuming what the right answer looks like for your particular business.
01
Pricing and rate confidence
This section looks at how you arrive at a rate - whether there's a consistent logic behind it, how you account for usage and exclusivity, and how you feel when you're asked to justify a number. It offers a framework for thinking it through rather than relying on habit or comparison.
02
Client processes and repeat work
From first enquiry to final invoice, a clear and consistent client process makes things easier for both sides. This section looks at what that journey currently looks like in your business and where a bit of structure might save time or reduce friction.
03
Systems, admin, and organisation
Invoicing, file delivery, scheduling, and client records need to happen reliably whether you're thinking about them or not. This section looks at what's in place, what's held together with good intentions, and where a simple system might be worth putting in.
04
New business pipeline
Casting platforms are a reasonable part of many VO businesses, but most people who build sustainable income over time have some element of direct outreach alongside it. This section looks at what your current pipeline looks like and where it's coming from.
05
Long-term business foundations
Separate business banking, a professional email address, a regular review of how the business is performing are small things that add up to a business that feels properly set up. This section checks whether the basics are in place and suggests where to start if they're not.
The questions it works through
Rather than telling you how your business should look, the survey asks how it currently works and leaves the interpretation to you. These are the kinds of questions it raises in each area.
PRICING
How do you arrive at the rate you quote?
There are lots of ways to set a rate — market comparison, per-word or per-minute calculations, usage-based pricing, or a combination. This section explores the reasoning behind your current approach and introduces the three variables (usage, client type, and licence terms) that tend to have the most influence on what a project is worth.
CLIENT MANAGEMENT
What happens between enquiry and invoice?
A lot of client work is managed from a personal inbox, which works fine until it doesn't. This section looks at what your current process actually is — how you track outstanding quotes, follow up on work in progress, and make sure returning clients have a consistent experience. It's less about the right system and more about whether there's a system at all.
LEAD GENERATION
Where is your work coming from, and where might it come from?
Casting platforms are a reasonable source of work, particularly early on. This section looks at the overall shape of your pipeline — what proportion comes from which sources, and whether there's scope for any direct outreach alongside the platform work. It's not a push to abandon what's working; it's a prompt to look at the full picture.
BUSINESS IDENTITY
When did you last sit down and look at how the business is going?
Income by client, income by category, outstanding invoices, pipeline health — a short quarterly review of these things gives you a much clearer sense of how the business is actually performing. This section looks at whether that habit is in place and, if not, offers a starting point for building it.
Where this came from
I came to VO from a long background in technology consulting helping organisations build the systems and processes that make their operations run reliably. When I trained as a voice actor, I brought that way of thinking with me, and it changed what I noticed about how VO businesses tend to be set up.
The questions in this survey are the same ones that come up in consulting sessions. Not as problems to diagnose, but as things worth looking at clearly, because it's hard to improve something you haven't had a proper look at in a while.
The guide is free, and it's written to be useful regardless of where you are in your VO career. If you find it helpful and want to work through anything in more depth, that option's there, but there's no obligation, and no follow-up pitch.
20+ years in technology consulting
Business systems, ITSM, Agile, project management, and customer success across enterprise and SMB clients.
Trained voice actor
Commercials, corporate narration, medical narration, documentary, e-learning, explainers, and IVR.
Business consulting for creating freelancers
Working directly with VO professionals and creative freelancers to implement the systems that let their talent earn what it's worth.
Take what's helpful
Leave what isn't
Add your name and email and the audit goes straight to your inbox. No account to create, nothing to pay, and no follow-up pitch waiting on the other side. It's a guide for you to use, however it's useful to you.
25 honest questions across five VO business areas, with space to work through your answers
A concrete starting point at the end of each section, if something looks worth addressing
A score and plain-language interpretation so you know where to focus first
Written to be useful at any stage, whether you're just getting set up or reviewing how things are running after a few years
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