Does Your Voice-Over Talent Income Have a Self-Imposed Ceiling?

Whether you’re a seasoned professional in the VO world or brand-new to the game, a common denominator is that we’re in this business to get paid for doing something we’re good at and enjoy.

But how much do we really want to be paid?

Everyone has their own set of parameters and goals, depending on various factors. Many voice-over talents are content to make an extra few thousand dollars per year. On the other end of the spectrum, you have full-time voice talent who have built their livelihood around voice-over work, and their income goals are six figures and beyond.

Certainly, the constantly changing VO landscape caused by technology and the internet is having a huge impact on voice-over talent incomes across the board.

But do you realize that YOU may be your worst enemy in growing your income? Do you sometimes feel stuck in a rut that keeps your income well below what you perceive you should be making?

If so, then perhaps you’ve been subconsciously sabotaging your own ability to earn top dollar.

How’s that possible? It has a lot to do with whether or not you are fully aligned with your income goals.

Are You Aligned With Your Voice Over Goals?

One form of alignment refers to the agreement between your conscious and subconscious mind. And the subconscious mind is much more responsible for your day-to-day decisions and actions than most people realize.

Without proper alignment, you can end up struggling and spinning your wheels, even if you’re doing many of the “right” things in your business.

My husband worked for several years as a personal and business coach, so he’s been using this alignment concept for over a decade. His firsthand research and observation have demonstrated repeatedly that alignment is one of the pivotal components of what makes a person successful (or not) in ultimately achieving their goals.

Yes, many factors come into play in being a successful voice-over talent. Experience, talent, and ability, execution of good business and marketing practices are all very important.

However, alignment is also very important.

If I say, “I want to be a six-figure voice-over talent,” but my alignment is out of whack with that intention, then the odds of me reaching my goal in a sustainable way and in the quickest possible time frame are greatly diminished.

Consciously, I may be very clear and focused on what I want to accomplish. Subconsciously, however, I may have thoughts and emotions that directly conflict with the goals I’m trying to achieve. Those conflicts will undermine me as I go along my path, usually in very subtle ways. They will affect my thoughts, my state of being, and my willingness to take necessary actions.

The Over-Riding Rule of Alignment

There is an overriding rule regarding alignment: The subconscious mind always wins.

Although a person’s conscious mind can win out over the short-term (by getting results through focused and determined action), if alignment is not eventually achieved on the subconscious level, you’ll end up with a “rubberband effect.” Everything will eventually snap back to the previous level of results. It’s like “yo-yo” dieting, but instead of your weight, your life situation, relationships, or finances keep returning to a normal level.

Two steps forward, two steps back. Back to square one, over and over again. Remember the movie “Groundhog Day?”

The experience can be very frustrating, and this phenomenon is a common reason why some entrepreneurs give up on their dreams. Anyone who successfully makes it to higher and higher levels of success has found a way to keep re-aligning with those higher and higher levels of success.

They have learned how to climb the ladder rung by rung and align with each new level as they go up.

Your Thoughts, Beliefs, and Emotions Can Reveal Whether You Are in Alignment

On the mental level, here are some examples of common thoughts that get in the way of entrepreneurs who are trying to ramp up their businesses:

– I’m afraid of failure/success
– I don’t deserve to make a lot of money
– No one in my family has ever been this successful, so I can’t do it either
– Who will I be if I become this successful?
– What if I become this successful and then lose it?

Hundreds of other possibilities of thoughts and beliefs can get in the way. This short list only scratches the surface. You may be able to consciously push them away, but if they are still active and strong in your subconscious mind, they still have power over you and will influence what you think, speak and do.

One of the primary tasks my husband worked on with his coaching clients was to identify the specific thoughts each person was holding onto (attached to) blocking their progress. Then he would use techniques to help them neutralize the power of those thoughts or beliefs. This process would shift them into proper alignment with their goals and intentions.

Your Voice-Over Talent Income Ceiling Works Like a Thermostat Setting

One obstacle for all business owners trying to boost their business is their comfort level with how much money they will make.

Just like the thermostat in your home that controls how warm or cool you will allow the temperature to get, you have an internal thermostat that controls how much money you’re going to make daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis.

There’s a way to determine that exact number, and my husband/coach took me through the process many years ago to make sure my setting was where I wanted it to be. We check in on it every once in a while to confirm that it’s still set at a very high level. Generally, you want the ceiling (thermostat setting) set way above the level of income you want to make so that it can’t interfere with hitting your target income.

If I have a goal to be a six-figure voice-over talent, but my income ceiling is set at $40,000 per year, then the odds of me making more than $40,000 in one year are very low. Even if I have a great year and do hit my six-figure goal if that ceiling doesn’t get adjusted, then it will be tough for me to sustain that income moving forward, and I will likely snap back to a lower level in the near future.

If your goal is to make $100,000 per year, then your ceiling should be set somewhere above that… $150,000 or $200,000 would be fine. Or, if you want room for something big to show up, push it out to a million! The ability to reset this financial thermostat can make a huge difference for anyone struggling to get to a higher income level. Being 100% in alignment with making a certain income level can remove much of the “headwind effect,” making it easier to move forward to reach your goal.

Most importantly, proper alignment helps to better ensure that you won’t be knocked back to previous results once you reach your new goals. There is no repetitive “rubberband effect” once the alignment is properly set and maintained. The new setting allows you to make that progress while locking it in as your new baseline, your new – and successful – “normal.”

Want to Learn More About This? Please Leave a Comment

If you’d like to learn more about how to align with your voice-over talent income goals and know where your income ceiling is, please leave your comments below. If there is a lot of interest in this, I’ll write a follow-up and share more info about the alignment process I use in my voice-over business.