Tom Test's Blog

My goal is to post at least twice a week here, with material that will be on interest to freelance creatives in general, and people in the voice-over business in particular.  I’ve been silent the past few weeks though, because I have been moving forward at high speed and haven’t quite caught up enough to blog! In the past few weeks I have assembled a brand-new PC to replace my old one which had a motherboard short, so now I have entered the world of Windows 7.  Also, I found a great deal on my own personal “Holy Grail” mic, a Gefell M930 (it sounds much like a Neumann TLM-103, only better!).  I am thrilled with how it sounds in my studio.

But perhaps the biggest development in my business happened today.  I finally took the plunge into the world of an obsolete technology that simply won’t go away – ISDN.  For the past decade I’ve considered investing in it, but rejected the idea for fear that in another year I’ve have nothing left but an expensive doorstop.  (For those of you who don’t know what ISDN is – it’s basically a super-powered landline that can be used in remote recording, so I can record myself in my booth at home, while someone in another part of the world can listen in as clearly as if I were actually there).  It is expensive to buy the codec box ($3-4K new, though I got a great  deal on a used one), and the line charges will be around $100/month.

I’ve been expecting VOIP technology to replace ISDN, but it hasn’t quite happened yet for technical reasons (such as latency problems) and also failure of any alternative to reach “critical mass.”  I’ve been assured by those in the VO biz that I respect that ISDN will still be around for a good while.  So now, I’ll be better able to market myself to talent agencies, ad agencies, and production companies across the globe.  I’m quite excited!

Since ISDN is if such limited use, it can be very difficult dealing with the phone companies.  I’ve heard some horror stories about voice talent getting ISDN set up.  Thankfully, there is a knight in shining white armor by the name of Dave Immer of Digifon who will be my consultant.  He’s the “best in the biz” when it comes to ISDN.  Also, I have audio guru George Whittam of El Dorado Consulting on my side to make sure I plug all the right cables into all the proper inserts.  I can’t imagine doing this myself.

Every week, I plan on sharing my coolest media find of the week.  This time, I’m sharing a very impressive example of stop-motion graffitti video, hooked up to a catchy rap tune (it’s from Israel, actually): http://vimeo.com/10555187

I’ve had a personal website to promote my services as a voice-over talent since 2003.  I’ve had the task “Update my website” on my “To-Do” list for, oh, about 3 years (can you relate?).  I was stuck, big time.  So, how did I get UN-stuck?  Let me share with you the simple tip that has made a radical change in my productivity.

In August 2010, I got an e-mail from an old acquaintance of mine who has a nice business as a terrific, life-changing career counselor.  As a gift for filling out a survey, he forwarded an e-mail that sure sounded like some pie-in-the-sky notion – a “Five Minute Secret That Billionaires Use to Amass Wealth and Prosperity.”  Yeah, sure….  But I took a look anyhow, due to my respect for this man and how he runs his business.

It is really a very simple concept, this “secret.”  Here it is: before your day ends, write down the three most important things you need to do tomorrow.  Then when tomorrow comes, do those three things and cross them off.  AFTER you are done with these three things, you may tackle other items on your master to-do list.  Do this every workday.  That’s it!

Before I started planning my days in this manner, I used to have a custom-made calendar with two weeks’ worth of “to-do’s” for every day.  Each day might have 6-12 things filled in each day, and I NEVER finished them all.  Problem was, I did all of the easy or fun things first, and never tackled the things that really were most important.  I avoided these tasks mostly due to some emotional stumbling block that I did not want to face – e.g.,  I hate asking for help, not feeling competent, being embarrassed at my lack of knowledge in an area where I need to get things done.  So rather than face those fears, I’d (barely) satisfy myself by focusing on the easy things.  Which is why “updating my website” sat on my master to-do list for month after month, year after year.

Since I started using this method of planning my days, I have tackled an amazing number of difficult items on my master to-do list.  I finally picked up the phone and called a few web designers.  I hired a graphic artist from elance.com to re-do my 20 year old business logo.  I planned out my vision for my website and wrote all the copy.  I asked for advice on who to produce my new voice-over demo, which photographer to take my new headshots.  I have gotten more important things done in the past three months than I had in the past three years.  Literally.

So if you are like me - a creative person who freelances for a living and struggles to take on the really big things that matter, give this method a try for a few weeks and see what happens.  If you do, I’d love to hear how it worked for you!