Retirement is always a rewarding time, whether it comes early or late. A large part of the UK population is retired, reaching nearly 12 million (11,989,322). With all the spare time you encounter as a retired individual, you may consider a side hustle. In the UK, more than 3.5 million people over 50 earn money from a side hustle. The problem most face when considering this is WHAT the part time job may be, and HOW they can get involved in the sector.
Melissa Thom from the Bristol Academy of Voice Acting (BRAVA) is keen to showcase how voice acting and voice over can be great second careers or side hustles for the over 50s.
“Before becoming a voice actor, I was working as head of comms for a digital agency. Being a new mum and feeling creatively stuck, I decided to change paths. Voice acting gave me the time with my sons and gave me a newfound feeling of creativity I felt I was lacking before. My journey started as a radio host and voiceover in 1996, and I am still in love with my job to this day.”
Voice acting and voice over is now a well regarded career.
“Voice acting is booming. We’re seeing more commercials, ads, e-learning projects and video games than ever before, and for voice actors, job security looks pretty great.’
Besides having a voice to let the world hear, there are a few other things you will need to prepare before diving into this sector.
Get the right coach
The first is to get proper training with a reputable coach or organisation – cannot stress the importance of this enough. Whoever you choose, it must feel like the right fit. Your coach will get to know you as the weeks progress and this is really important as they will help you navigate the industry and support you to work out your next steps along each stage of the process.
Demo Reels
Everyone learns at different speeds, so the main offerings at BAVA are 1-1. There are options to take supplementary classes in groups. Your aim with coaching is to get you to the point at which you are ready to cvut your first demo reel. You should NEVER cut your own demo reel. This should always be done with an experienced producer and is something we offer here at BRAVA.
“It is important to show off your voice and all the ways it can be used. If you want to be successful in voice acting, this is an important step. Ensure you know how to interpret a range of scripts and bring them to life, so you can give yourself the biggest advantage.”
Practise, practise, practise
Of course as well as coaching you should find time regularly to practise yourself at home. You don’t need any specialist equipment to get started, recording on your phone is fine. You will also need to learn audio editing skills, which we teach here at BRAVA, as well as selecting software to enable you to do this yourself. There are many apps and websites that can help you achieve this. If you own a mac, a standard app on their software is GarageBand’, which is free and simple to use. If you do not own a mac or wish to use something different, Audacity is free software that lets you do the same.
Marketing
The next thing you will need is contacts. Use social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, and look out for courses and support that you can access.
Once you have all these things in place, you can set to work to get yourself out there in the voice acting world. Send your demo reel out to as many people as possible, and advertise it everywhere you can!