The Boss Blueprint: Setting Voice Acting Career Goals for 2026

Anne Ganguzza
Dec 30, 2025
3 min read

with Tom Dheere

BOSSes Anne Ganguzza and Tom Dheere (The VO Strategist) detail the foundational strategy for achieving your voice acting career goals in the new year. Using a proven five-category system taught by industry veteran Dan Duckworth, Tom provides a structured method for turning ambition into executable action plans. The hosts emphasize that in a career where you wear all the hats, efficiency, education, and a healthy mindset are the keys to long-term success.

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Chapter Summaries

The Five Categories of VO Business Goals

(02:14) Tom introduces the essential five categories for setting comprehensive voice acting career goals that must be addressed annually:

Cashflow: Revenue goals, budgeting expenses, invoicing, and taxes.
Tools: Investment in tangible and non-tangible assets (mics, software, web hosting, subscriptions).
Technique: Training (VO 101, genre-specific) and demo production.
Marketing: Portals for casting opportunities (representation, online casting, self-marketing, and potentially advertising).
Health: Vocal, mental, emotional, and organizational health (including self-care and investing in vacations).

Health is the Number One Asset

(20:23) Anne and Tom agree that Health is the most important category, ranking far above the others. You cannot generate cashflow or execute technique if your vocal, mental, or organizational health is compromised. Organizational health is defined as making sure your business processes are efficient (e.g., finding a W9 in five seconds, not thirty minutes).

The Investment Imperative (The Chicken or the Egg)

(08:44) The hosts address the challenge of new actors who say they need to make money first to pay for coaching. They strongly assert that this mindset is unrealistic. To be competitive against good readers and AI, actors must invest upfront in Technique (training) and Tools (demo, studio) to reach the level required to successfully audition and generate revenue.

Goal Setting and the Farmer Analogy

(14:59) To illustrate the necessary order and patience for goal attainment, Tom uses the Farmer Analogy: success requires planting the right seeds (talent), nourishing them with fertilizer (training/coaching), creating the right environment (studio), and, most importantly, waiting patiently—you cannot harvest prematurely.

The Power of the Written Goal

(21:52) Tom insists that actors must write down their goals in a tangible, visible format (a "monthly action plan" printed and kept on the desk). This physical reminder, which should be continually revisited and checked off, helps to manifest success and is crucial for measuring progress beyond just financial numbers.

Embracing Growth and Correcting Failure

(26:33) Tom stresses that failure is growth. The difference between a beginner and a boss is learning from mistakes and immediately creating an efficient system to ensure that mistake (e.g., losing a W9 form) never happens again. They encourage actors to look back at their yearly progress and journal their gratitude to celebrate value and growth that might be overlooked if only focusing on financial results.

Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors:

Health is Paramount: Prioritize your vocal, mental, and organizational health above all other business goals.
Invest Upfront in Technique: Do not wait to make money to pay for coaching; training is a prerequisite for competitiveness and profitability.
Revenue Goals: Your annual financial goal should cover all business expenses (Tools, Technique, Marketing, Health) plus your personal living expenses.
Write It Down: Insist on writing down your monthly action plan goals physically to hold yourself accountable and keep them visible.
Organizational Health: Ensure your business processes are efficient (e.g., easy digital and physical access to all required forms and equipment).
Avoid Premature Harvesting: Be patient. A voice acting career requires years of nurturing; initial profits will not be seen for approximately five years.
Embrace Failure as Wisdom: Learn from every mistake (failure is growth) and establish systems to prevent the mistake from reoccurring.
Goal Diversity: Measure your success by growth in technique, training, networking, and skills, not just by cashflow.
Marketing Portals: Budget for online casting sites and consider niche advertising (like Google Ads) to extend your reach beyond representation and direct marketing.
Journal Your Gratitude: Regularly document your accomplishments and express gratitude to maintain perspective, boost confidence, and prevent premature quitting.

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