160
8 min 53 sec

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.
Communication International Low Startup Potential Service Voiceover

Subscribe Now For A Free Five Step Tutorial

What It's About

A love of acting leads an ex-radio personality to a voice acting side hustle.

Business Model
Service
Skills Required
Voice acting & Flexibility
Complexity
Low
Profit Potential
Medium

Words of Wisdom

I think the greatest thing about building location independent work is that you can travel. It doesn’t mean you have to; it just means you aren’t confined to a physical location all the time.

As long as she has an internet connection, this side hustle allows Mindy to work from anywhere. This means she’s been able to spend time in Rome, Paris, Barcelona, and London, and to work as much or as little as she wants—which allows her to focus on what really “matters” most to her.

Fun Fact

This Canadian Broadcast Journalism professor has always had the acting bug as well as a knack for playing around with her voice. She remembers growing up in London, Ontario where even as a child, she used her voice to imitate celebrities. Back then, her repertoire included Olivia Newton-John, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jan Brady, and Charo.

Notes from Chris

Episode 160

Mindy Williamson always wanted more control over her career and time. After she was unexpectedly “restructured”—as she puts it—from a radio morning show job she had done for 20 years, she began to look for something new, flexible and fulfilling.

Mindy knew she loved telling stories, and she felt that using your voice, not just the words, to tell a story could bring it to life—could really make it pop.  Having spent years in a radio studio and working on commercials, it seemed like a no-brainer for her to make voice acting her side hustle.

She invested about $2,000 upfront—$500 for soundproofing material, $650 for a good microphone, and about $1,000 for various memberships, including to Voices.com, an online marketplace for voice actors. Then she hired a local company to build and maintain her website. Her ongoing costs include $28 each month for editing software and about $250 per year to maintain her website.

Now, Mindy provides the voice for TV and radio commercials, e-learning projects, telephone services, movie trailers and audio books. She says it’s different every day, which keeps it fun. Her fees range from $100 for a simple, short project to $5,000 for long-form narration.

She also offers private voice coaching for $150 per hour, as well as workshop coaching courses to improve speaking and presentation skills that range from $250 to $2,5000 in cost.

Her profit varies month to month—sometimes reaching as much as $5,000—but Mindy says weathering the ebb and flow has been one of the most challenging aspects of the hustle. On average, though, she’s earned between $1,250 and $2,500 monthly.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

  • Speaking Matters: Read more about Mindy and her voice work on her website
  • Voices.com: The online marketplace for voice actors that Mindy subscribed to
SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter


Download Episodes By Months:

Season 6 (2022): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 5 (2021): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 4 (2020): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 3 (2019): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 2 (2018): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Season 1 (2017): JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUN | JUL | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️


Learn More

RELIABLE WEBHOST FOR $2.49/MONTH

Want to build any kind of website for your hustle? If so, you'll need somewhere to host it! This is the reliable company I've used for my past 5 websites. It's cheap, flexible, and you can get support 24 hours a day.

Get your own hosting plan for just $2.49 a month!


Learn More

Quote of the Day
"Right now I am juggling a lot, but I like each of my jobs and really don't see a need to give any of them up. Becoming a voice-over artist has changed my life. I'm able to travel, and I can work as much or as little as I want!"
—Mindy Williamson #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Try Harry's for FREE!

Side Hustle School is brought to you by Harry's. Get the close, comfortable shave you deserve!

Sign up by clicking the button below, and you’ll receive their most popular Trial Set—a 13 dollar value—for FREE when you cover the shipping.💈


Get it Here

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.


Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!





To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau