In the past 3 years that I have been doing #voiceovers and learning how to handle it like a #smallbusiness, the month which has brought me lowest revenue also happens to be my birthday month...June.
First year this happened, I had no #historicaldata to compare it with, second year I was a bit sad that it happened again, but when again in June this year, I was not only better prepared for it, in fact like a clever #businessperson that I would like to be, I analysed my business model and revenue stream and came up with the following conclusions:
1. My mind and body sends me signals
After always starting the year full-throttle and doing it non-stop for 5 months, my body starts signalling me that I need to wind down a bit and take it easy for a while, which means that my #marketing slows down, my #networking slows down…basically my #hustle slows down and as a result I see a slow-down in my revenue too.
2. I will admit, I might be distracted
June being my #birthday month, I didn’t realise that I do get distracted from work and like to focus a bit more on me, a bit of #selfcare. And to be honest, I am #notcomplaining about it 😊
3. This year was slow, but better than what it had been in past
After making literally £0 every year in June for past 2 years, this year my #revenue was still #ingreen. Admittedly, yes it was less than what other months have brought in, but it I will still take any #positiveincome as a win!
4. This year I got better at tracking my business
Thanks to valuable inputs and tips from other #VO #pros like Robb Moreira and Joey Schaljo, I have gotten better at tracking my #bookings, #clients and #money, so I can make better sense of #trends in my work and its relationship with my business practices. This tracking gives me an opportunity to identify negative and positive patterns, thus giving me a chance to improve.
5. Utilising this time elsewhere
Every year, this downtime in the month of June, I have utilized in #selfimprovement and #introspection. So, the fact that I might not be booking as many jobs, doesn’t mean that I am not working. I am still #auditioning and I am still working on improving my skills and my services.
6. Gives me time to pursue other hobbies
Another factor which I have realized just this year is that because the weather here in UK is #beautiful in June and because I love #nature and #gardening, so any chance I get, I am always outside, enjoying walks and pottering away.
So in nutshell, I realise that even though June tends to be my slowest month of the year, this months still gives me a lot!
It gives me the time to take a step back and recharge my batteries, a chance to see how my year has been so far & where I would like to take it next and it gives me an opportunity to focus on me and some of my hobbies.
And for that I love this month even more.
This is great, Sakshi... and very timely for me because October seems to be my low month. Nothing last year, and only 2 small jobs this year.
This year, I really needed the time for some personal issues, so it's all good. Funny how that works out!
Here's to embracing the good months and resting when we can!
- Sumara.