Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in training and education but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Bruce Carey, Founder and Owner of Voices Carey, located in Dallas, TX, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Voices Carey is the premier voice acting school in the country with over 20 years of experience teaching in the voice-over industry. We train our aspiring actors in the Voices Carey Method, a unique and effective system we've developed to build career-ready professionals with well-rounded skill sets.
Our online classes are fun and informative, and many of our students say it is the best part of their week. That being said, we're not just for voice actors. We coach all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons. Some lawyers want to speak better in court. Some financial sector people want to sell better. Some partners want to communicate better with their significant others. There are myriad reasons to bring your verbal skills to optimum performance.
Tell us about yourself
I have been making my living as a full-time actor since I was 19. I started doing impressions at a young age and worked on stage as a child actor. Then I moved to on-camera and voice-over. I’ve had a big commercial career, voicing spots for 7Eleven, Walmart, Frito-Lay, U.S. Navy, and many more. I trained in dramatic acting, improvisational acting, and on-camera acting. All these programs taught a method.
As voice acting became my main thrust, I looked around for someone teaching a method, and guess what? I found nothing. So, about 15 years ago, I decided to fill that void, organizing everything I had learned and creating the Voices Carey Method. I continue to service my long-time clients and run the school, teaching group classes and private classes and producing professional voice acting demo reels.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I'd have to say our biggest accomplishment is effectively reading the changing climate of how people want to learn in the 21st century. For 20 years, I operated in a brick-and-mortar studio and did all the work myself. That limited the Voices Carey client base to a specific geographic area. The best decision I ever made was to move the business entirely online. The business quadrupled gross income in 5 years, and I have nine people working for me to meet the increased demand. Now the entire country is our potential client base.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
As my business grew quickly, there were three things I had a hard time with. Delegation, time management, and business management. In order to delegate effectively, you have to find good, competent people you can trust. People with a strong work ethic. And that's not the easiest thing in the world to find these days. The issue of time management is ubiquitous. The better you are at knowing what to spend your time on, judiciously, the more efficiently things get done.
I've always been a creative guy. My college experience was in music school. I've never taken one business administration course. So, I hired Saira Roberts, who has run companies and spent 17 years in risk management with the SBA. She is now the business manager of Voices Carey and has instilled policies and best practices I would've never dreamed of. I've never looked back.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Reduce overhead by moving your business online if you can.
- Hire a social media director to create consistent posts on various platforms.
- Hire a digital marketing person to handle SEO and SEM.
- Sell the best product you can, backed by caring customer service.
- Operate in good faith.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Whatever you sell, make your brand QUALITY. You'll never regret it.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.voicescarey.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoicesCarey/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voices_carey/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Voices_Carey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/voices-carey/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.