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What It's About
A working mom presses play on a voiceover gig and creates more freedom for herself.
Business Model
Service
Skills Required
Voiceover & Communication
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
High
Words of Wisdom
Carrie says that having an excellent demo is a great way to start finding commercial work. A good one typically costs anywhere from $1,000-$2,000, but she says that it’s important to get some experience under your belt before investing money into one.
Fun Fact
Carrie and her family traveled around the United States for 9 months in a travel trailer. While this was an awesome adventure, it became difficult for Carrie to find a place quiet enough to record her voiceovers. Once, she even drove to a cemetery to record. She says that, "you may have heard a commercial on the TV or radio that was recorded from the back seat of a Durango in a cemetery in New Mexico."
Notes from Chris
Episode 923
On the way to work one morning, Carrie Olsen decided that she was going to start listening to a new podcast. Already a lover of side hustles, Carrie was drawn to one about people who did unusual jobs—and it wasn’t ours! She pressed play on the latest episode and started listening to an interview with professional voiceover actress Alyson Steel. Alyson was a mom, just like Carrie. But, unlike Carrie, she got to start her day by doing yoga and seeing her kids before they went to school. After that, she settled into her home recording studio for her day of work. With a newborn at home, the idea of being able to work from her house was music to Carrie’s ears. Not only that, but Carrie also had a background in freelance podcast hosting and had narrated several courses for her day job as an eLearning Designer. Suddenly, it seemed like voiceover work wasn’t just something that she could pursue, it was something that she should. She scored her first job about a month later. It was a 2-minute long narration for a Danish company, and she was paid $450. With extra cash in her bank account and pep in her step, Carrie kept her ear to the ground in the pursuit of more jobs. After another small job, her third client brought Carrie a fat paycheck and a newfound sense of confidence. She was hired to record a national radio campaign for the outdoor gear store REI. This gig brought in $2,000. Not only that, but REI wanted to keep doing projects with her in the future. With the promise of more money, Carrie began to wonder how much she could make if she pursued her hustle full-time. She began to pursue voice acting full-time only four months after she started her hustle, Carrie Olsen Voiceover. In her first year, she made almost exactly the same amount of money that she made in her old, corporate job, which was right around $45,000. Since then, Carrie has been steadily increasing her salary. In the meantime, she designed her own course for voiceover coaching, combining both of her strengths in eLearning and in voice acting. In 2017, she broke six figures. While Carrie has made serious (sound) waves in the voiceover industry, she already has new ideas for her business growth. She just did a few promos for Netflix and hopes to get into more promo work in the future. Carrie will also be releasing a new online course, all about marketing for voiceovers. With the help of a side hustle, Carrie used her voice to hit all the right notes in her search for a better life.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Carrie Olsen Voiceover: Tune into Carrie's website to learn more about this voiceover side hustle turned full-time job! And if you're interested in getting some assistance in starting a voiceover side hustle of your own, check out Carrie's Voiceover Success Intensive
- How One Man Used a $100 Microphone to Make Over $8,000: After testing the waters with low-priced services on Fiverr.com, a Tennessee IT manager learns to focus on voiceover services for overseas customers
- Radio Personality Channels Her Vocal Cords for Extra Income: How a professor-by-day and former radio announcer makes a handsome side profit selling her most natural and accessible tool: her voice
- Doctor Does Off-Hours Voiceover Work to Pay Med School Bills: A doctor with a voice worth listening to teaches himself the art of voiceover, then goes on to earn thousands of dollars working for some of the world’s biggest brands
- South African Writer Launches Accidental Acting Career: After being told he had a voice for radio, a journalist stumbles into a profitable side hustle appearing in beer and soft drink commercials
Quote of the Day
"As a side hustle, the best part of the experience was the joy I got from it. Everyday, I was discovering more about the industry, and when I started bringing in an income from it, it didn't even seem real. Now, the best part of the experience is feeling like I've been able to design my lifestyle. I don't feel trapped at a job that keeps me from the things I love most."
—Carrie Olsen #SideHustleSchool
