If you’re one in a million, there are at least 7,500 people just like you. So goes the joke/factoid.

I thought about it as I recently perused a P2P site, which advertised access to ‘over 200,000 voice actors.’

Still feel like buying that Powerball ticket?

If mere numbers don’t make question your pursuit of this business, consider the recent merger in the voice over world. Apparently, many actors have, and it’s raising the anxiety level to code red levels.

It need not.

I applaud the recent move by over a dozen agents to create the VO Agent Alliance to show support and belief that what we do is a profession. So let’s treat it as one. What resonates in particular is the spirit of their mission. ‘If you build it, they will come.’ Yes, I often reference films, and pop culture. Get used to it.

My career was blessed with some early success, due to booking a few big jobs, and several generous colleagues who referred my work to clients. That’s one way to do it, but really you need a several prong approach, which often includes doing things you might not consider as ‘creative.’ As a former broadcaster, I was much more into the ‘art’ of the business, but not so much the business of the art.

What a rude awakening to find out you have to treat this thing like a business to sustain it. No agent, no P2P, no well-meaning colleague is going to make us successful, although a combination of all those things are essential to succeed.

The world only turns one way, and we turn with it. One day, at the start of the millennium, as I whined about the digitization of the business, a colleague said, ‘The train is leaving the station, whether you’re on it, or not.’ These days I enjoy the crowded platform upon which we all stand, and discover new ways to travel.

Some days I ride that train, others I’m building my own track, and provide a fun and interesting journey to a fabulous destination.

Where are you going?