VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio Episode 696 “Black Friday 2025”
John: [00:00:00] All right. Welcome back to Voice Coaches Radio. I of course, am John.
Tina: And I'm Tina.
John: Yes. And it is Black Friday. It is. It's Black Friday today. Uh, and so I, I wanna talk about that because. Um, first of all, I, I, maybe it's obvious, maybe it isn't. Mm-hmm. But with the increased advertising and there is a lot of advertising comes, increased opportunities for voice actors.
Tina: Yes, it does. I didn't even really think about that. You know, especially the holidays now. Yeah.
John: The hot now I know we're late 'cause it is Black Friday. I know we're giving you this information late.
Tina: Yes.
John: So a little late to get some of these Black Friday jobs. But you're gonna be good for next year. But hey, we're ahead of the holidays.
Yeah. And holidays in general, you know. Um. They're approaching and there's gonna be more and more opportunity. So really start [00:01:00] looking and really be aware of what's going on. Um, I, I, again, had an opportunity to do something not too long ago. There's a, um. A restaurant bar that I, that's in my town actually, who I have a relationship with.
I've done work mm-hmm. For before, like when they did Brewfest and things like that. And, uh, they're gonna open right before Black Friday, and they've already approached me and said, Hey, we might do some radio work. Would you be interested outta nowhere? Because again, they're, they're gonna increase. Uh, their spend on advertising because Black Friday's coming up and mm-hmm.
And Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is a huge night for bars.
Tina: Everybody goes out. Yeah.
John: Right. So, so, uh, yeah, I think that's gonna be really awesome. I, and I'm hoping to also score some more work. Um. Coming up soon.
Tina: Well, it's funny that you mention it's because you, you build that relationship with that person.
And I tell that to students all the time because sometimes yes, you'll find 'em on the online casting sites and things like that, but build those relationships. 'cause you never know who [00:02:00] may need a voice.
John: You got really important. Yeah. And even if they don't do, even if they're not consistently doing voiceover work or hiring voice actors, AKA U, hopefully, uh, but.
Again, something like this pops up and you're the first person they think of because you have that relationship. Super important. I think we, we, we all talk about this mm-hmm. Building relationships and voiceovers key to working long term. You don't wanna always be searching for your first job. Mm-hmm. The first job is supposed to be the hardest to get.
Tina: Yeah.
John: And so you always searching for the first job is. Not the way to, to, to, to build a career, at least, you know what I mean? So, uh, yeah. So, you know, um, but I wanna talk about, uh, black Friday in a different way.
Tina: Okay.
John: Okay. Um, I think the other way I like to talk about it is this is an amazing time right now if you're looking at, uh, becoming a full service provider.
In other words, someone who records from home.
Tina: Yeah.
John: This is the time to look at equipment.
Tina: Absolutely. Oh my [00:03:00] goodness. 'cause if on other days you look at prices, you're just like, oh my.
John: Yeah. Uh, that microphone you've been looking at.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Look at it now. Mm-hmm. You, you know, uh, Sweetwater, fantastic place to look.
They do, and I know for a fact Sweetwater does do Black Friday deals.
Tina: Oh, that's really good.
John: Yeah. Yeah. So look at Sweetwater. And you know, you might have had your eye in this microphone or maybe you had your eye in a preamp or who knows? And, and uh, you're like, ah, it's just a little outta my range. You'd be surprised.
Uh, it's not gonna be outta your range now.
Tina: No, absolutely.
John: So, um, I would look now. Also keep in mind that, uh, small businesses are gonna be doing mm-hmm. Uh, American Express Small Business Saturday, that's the thing too.
Oh,
Tina: that's right. Yeah. Yeah.
John: So I forgot
Tina: about that.
John: Yeah. You don't just have Black Friday.
So even with, if you're like someone who's like, and by the way, Sweetwater is, even though they, they serve the nation. Mm-hmm. Sweetwater is a, s is a small company as well. Yeah. They're not a giant company. But if you want to, again, if you're looking local for whether it be equipment, whether it [00:04:00] be anything mm-hmm.
Um. Again, uh, American Express Small Business Saturday is Yeah. A is also a thing. We're doing that, by the way. So for those of you who mm-hmm. Who, uh, are maybe looking to get into voiceovers, you know, you, you subscribe to this because we have some great info and mm-hmm. And, uh, but yet, listen, we're, we're also gonna do like a small business Saturday.
Kind of thing. We're not exactly sure what yet, but we're gonna figure it out. It's gonna be something cool because we are small business. We're gonna have a deal. So American Express Small Business Saturday, something we are also going to participate in. So if that's something, by the way, any, any listener here is interested in, please reach out to us.
Tina: Yeah,
John: reach out to us. Um, and it can be, um. By the way, my, my email, you can reach out john [email protected]
Tina: and I'm just [email protected].
John: There you go. H how come you don't have, you know, why do I have to have John G? And you just, Tina, I don't just gonna be John at voice coaches.
Tina: Yeah, but I, the g goes with it.
That sounds, it sounds really catchy and I'm, there's your stage name. [00:05:00]
John: It's funny to say that one time. Uh, this is great. One time I did, uh, I did like a presentation at Montgomery Community College in Pennsylvania.
Tina: Okay.
John: Right. And, uh, it was funny, David, uh, was originally scheduled to do it. Right. So, and, and so David has a pretty catchy name.
David Bourgeois. Yes. Pretty catchy name. Yes. John Gallogly. Not such a catchy name. Not super catchy. Uh, I always tell people, because people can't ever pronounce it. I always say, Hey, if you know how to pronounce my last name, imagine if I was to name my first born Moley.
Tina: Okay.
John: Moley Gallogly. Which, uh, my, I tried, my wife did not go for it.
She was like, that's not happening. No, no,
Tina: no.
John: But, but, uh, so anyway, I went, I went out to Montgomery Community College. To do this, uh, presentation mm-hmm. For David. And when I got there, the per, uh, someone showed up kind of early mm-hmm. And, and they said, Hey, how are you, David? And for those of you who have met David, now you know that many people think we look similar.
Tina: You do. [00:06:00] Okay. I'm sorry. I just, I gotta to tell you, do you really, really do?
John: So, so this person must have seen David. Maybe she went to the website. Mm-hmm. I don't know. And she said, Hey, how are you, David? I go, actually, my name's John. It's John Goobly. Shook her hand. She goes and she goes. She had touched her nose, you know, like people do like the mob things.
She goes, oh, okay John. And I'm like, no, no, no, it's John Gallogly. And she goes, oh, entertainment name. I'm like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I went from David Bourgeois to John Gallogly. Definitely. That was what I chose to
Tina: do. That is the name people are gonna remember.
John: Yeah. The super catchy. Uh, so that's, that, that's what I did.
Yeah. So, uh. So weird. So weird. But, you know, uh, uh, like apparently, can you imagine that choosing that as your, as your entertainment name? Like, I was like, no, my, my real name is John Smith, but I need an entertainment name. I went with John Gallogly went with that.
Tina: That's why the John G is better.
John: Yeah. Yeah.
So, but yeah. So again, uh, on both, both sides of [00:07:00] this, okay. As a voice actor again. Look for that work. And throughout the holidays. Mm-hmm. I know it's Black Friday now. Maybe I should have told you a little earlier. Yeah. I apologize. The information's getting out the day of little late to get a Black Friday voiceover right now.
Mm-hmm. But, um, all the other holidays are coming up.
Tina: Yeah.
John: This is the season. Tis of the season.
Tina: Well, you also never know though, even though you say it's. It is like today, but there will be last minute gigs too. Yes. There's a lot of times, Hey, are you available tomorrow? Yep. Any chance you can do Monday?
Something like that. Yeah. So you never know. It's not, you know. Yes. A lot of times they do plan in advance. Yeah. And give you a couple days or a week or whatever, you know, depending on their timeline. But sometimes it is a, Hey, can you get this done?
John: Yep. Absolutely. And again, uh, so Black Friday for that, uh, American Express Small Business Saturday for that.
Mm-hmm. Also, again. Reach out to us if you're looking for something far as needs. Yeah. Just any questions on any
Tina: of that stuff. Yeah.
John: Um, but also equipment. This is a good time. And, and, and I say that because I meet many new voice [00:08:00] actors and I say to them, and, and this is gonna be the exception. Mm-hmm. You know, I always have to say, there's always an exception.
Right.
Tina: Yeah.
John: But I say to people when I meet them. Because so many people wanna buy equipment right away. I don't know if it's exciting. Yes. I don't know why. They're like, I'm gonna just go and I always say, listen, that's not the first step. If you wanna become a full service provider, of course I support that.
Mm-hmm. If that's something you're interested in, you should absolutely do that. Makes more work available to you. However, it's not the first step, right? Mm-hmm. The first step is getting voiceover coaching,
Tina: gets the training done.
John: Yeah. Getting the demo and then look into, but here's an exception. Yeah. Maybe Black Friday deals are worth getting some equipment right now, even if you're not quite to the point where Yeah.
You, you, you know, in the journey mm-hmm. In your journey where you should be doing it. You're not gonna get better deals than now.
Tina: No, absolutely. 'cause if you just look, I mean, there's, there's such a wide, um, range. Price wise, when especially comes to microphone, yes. You can get a, you know, a $6,000 microphone.
Right. That would, if you've got the money, you know, but just think if you want that high [00:09:00] end microphone on a day like Black Friday or the small business Saturday, they're gonna have it on sale.
John: Yes.
Tina: You know,
John: and even the mics that aren't that expensive, like, you know, one of my favorite like kind of mid-range mics is a Bluebird.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: Right by blue and, and, um. I think normally, I think I bought it for like 300, which, yeah. Kills me. 'cause I look online. It's not 300 now, by the way. No, nothing has ever now, you know, as it gets, as things age, they get, uh, yeah. Less expensive many times. But, um, anyway, mid range, Mike, you're gonna get it like really inexpensively during this time.
Yeah,
John: yeah. So it's a good time. So also I, I think that, uh, you know, again, black Friday, this is our Black Friday. Mm-hmm. It is episode 6 96. Okay. We are four away. From 700 episodes.
Tina: Party.
John: Party. Big party. Big party.
Tina: I want the balloons and streamers coming down. Yeah, let's do that.
John: Yes. I think, I think, uh, yeah.
So how many weeks is that?
Tina: Th 4, 3,
John: 6, 9, 4 more [00:10:00] episodes after this. That's
Tina: why we do voice acting and not math stuff.
John: Yeah, I know. Four more episodes after this. We'll be, we'll be at 700 episodes. It's pretty cool,
Tina: right? Yeah, it is.
John: Yeah. And, and we started this podcast in 2008. How wild is that?
Tina: Wow. We've been doing this for such a long
John: time.
Not us. Not you and I, although I did. I started this podcast in 2008, um, and then some people took over and I'm back. Yeah. But in 2008, think about that. Most people weren't even podcasting then.
Tina: No, not at all now. Yeah. But now it's even better.
John: It's obviously with you and I doing it, it's way better. No offense to all the other hosts.
You're all amazing. You're all We're gonna get a hate mail. How dare you. I know you're all great. They're all great. I just think they were
Tina: fantastic.
John: Tina and I are like the Michael Jordan of voiceover podcasting. Yeah. Together it takes two of us.
Tina: Yeah,
John: because maybe the Michael Shorten of voice of our podcasting.
Alright, well there we go. I wanna thank everybody very much for listening. If you haven't subscribed. I would say, why haven't you say,
Tina: oh, just go ahead. Don't, don't shame 'em.[00:11:00]
John: So sometimes shame is a motivator. It's a motivator. Alright. Thank you very much for listening. Uh, again, I'm John.
Tina: And I'm Tina.
John: And we out.
Tina: And I'm Tina.
John: Yes. And it is Black Friday. It is. It's Black Friday today. Uh, and so I, I wanna talk about that because. Um, first of all, I, I, maybe it's obvious, maybe it isn't. Mm-hmm. But with the increased advertising and there is a lot of advertising comes, increased opportunities for voice actors.
Tina: Yes, it does. I didn't even really think about that. You know, especially the holidays now. Yeah.
John: The hot now I know we're late 'cause it is Black Friday. I know we're giving you this information late.
Tina: Yes.
John: So a little late to get some of these Black Friday jobs. But you're gonna be good for next year. But hey, we're ahead of the holidays.
Yeah. And holidays in general, you know. Um. They're approaching and there's gonna be more and more opportunity. So really start [00:01:00] looking and really be aware of what's going on. Um, I, I, again, had an opportunity to do something not too long ago. There's a, um. A restaurant bar that I, that's in my town actually, who I have a relationship with.
I've done work mm-hmm. For before, like when they did Brewfest and things like that. And, uh, they're gonna open right before Black Friday, and they've already approached me and said, Hey, we might do some radio work. Would you be interested outta nowhere? Because again, they're, they're gonna increase. Uh, their spend on advertising because Black Friday's coming up and mm-hmm.
And Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is a huge night for bars.
Tina: Everybody goes out. Yeah.
John: Right. So, so, uh, yeah, I think that's gonna be really awesome. I, and I'm hoping to also score some more work. Um. Coming up soon.
Tina: Well, it's funny that you mention it's because you, you build that relationship with that person.
And I tell that to students all the time because sometimes yes, you'll find 'em on the online casting sites and things like that, but build those relationships. 'cause you never know who [00:02:00] may need a voice.
John: You got really important. Yeah. And even if they don't do, even if they're not consistently doing voiceover work or hiring voice actors, AKA U, hopefully, uh, but.
Again, something like this pops up and you're the first person they think of because you have that relationship. Super important. I think we, we, we all talk about this mm-hmm. Building relationships and voiceovers key to working long term. You don't wanna always be searching for your first job. Mm-hmm. The first job is supposed to be the hardest to get.
Tina: Yeah.
John: And so you always searching for the first job is. Not the way to, to, to, to build a career, at least, you know what I mean? So, uh, yeah. So, you know, um, but I wanna talk about, uh, black Friday in a different way.
Tina: Okay.
John: Okay. Um, I think the other way I like to talk about it is this is an amazing time right now if you're looking at, uh, becoming a full service provider.
In other words, someone who records from home.
Tina: Yeah.
John: This is the time to look at equipment.
Tina: Absolutely. Oh my [00:03:00] goodness. 'cause if on other days you look at prices, you're just like, oh my.
John: Yeah. Uh, that microphone you've been looking at.
Tina: Yeah.
John: Look at it now. Mm-hmm. You, you know, uh, Sweetwater, fantastic place to look.
They do, and I know for a fact Sweetwater does do Black Friday deals.
Tina: Oh, that's really good.
John: Yeah. Yeah. So look at Sweetwater. And you know, you might have had your eye in this microphone or maybe you had your eye in a preamp or who knows? And, and uh, you're like, ah, it's just a little outta my range. You'd be surprised.
Uh, it's not gonna be outta your range now.
Tina: No, absolutely.
John: So, um, I would look now. Also keep in mind that, uh, small businesses are gonna be doing mm-hmm. Uh, American Express Small Business Saturday, that's the thing too.
Oh,
Tina: that's right. Yeah. Yeah.
John: So I forgot
Tina: about that.
John: Yeah. You don't just have Black Friday.
So even with, if you're like someone who's like, and by the way, Sweetwater is, even though they, they serve the nation. Mm-hmm. Sweetwater is a, s is a small company as well. Yeah. They're not a giant company. But if you want to, again, if you're looking local for whether it be equipment, whether it [00:04:00] be anything mm-hmm.
Um. Again, uh, American Express Small Business Saturday is Yeah. A is also a thing. We're doing that, by the way. So for those of you who mm-hmm. Who, uh, are maybe looking to get into voiceovers, you know, you, you subscribe to this because we have some great info and mm-hmm. And, uh, but yet, listen, we're, we're also gonna do like a small business Saturday.
Kind of thing. We're not exactly sure what yet, but we're gonna figure it out. It's gonna be something cool because we are small business. We're gonna have a deal. So American Express Small Business Saturday, something we are also going to participate in. So if that's something, by the way, any, any listener here is interested in, please reach out to us.
Tina: Yeah,
John: reach out to us. Um, and it can be, um. By the way, my, my email, you can reach out john [email protected]
Tina: and I'm just [email protected].
John: There you go. H how come you don't have, you know, why do I have to have John G? And you just, Tina, I don't just gonna be John at voice coaches.
Tina: Yeah, but I, the g goes with it.
That sounds, it sounds really catchy and I'm, there's your stage name. [00:05:00]
John: It's funny to say that one time. Uh, this is great. One time I did, uh, I did like a presentation at Montgomery Community College in Pennsylvania.
Tina: Okay.
John: Right. And, uh, it was funny, David, uh, was originally scheduled to do it. Right. So, and, and so David has a pretty catchy name.
David Bourgeois. Yes. Pretty catchy name. Yes. John Gallogly. Not such a catchy name. Not super catchy. Uh, I always tell people, because people can't ever pronounce it. I always say, Hey, if you know how to pronounce my last name, imagine if I was to name my first born Moley.
Tina: Okay.
John: Moley Gallogly. Which, uh, my, I tried, my wife did not go for it.
She was like, that's not happening. No, no,
Tina: no.
John: But, but, uh, so anyway, I went, I went out to Montgomery Community College. To do this, uh, presentation mm-hmm. For David. And when I got there, the per, uh, someone showed up kind of early mm-hmm. And, and they said, Hey, how are you, David? And for those of you who have met David, now you know that many people think we look similar.
Tina: You do. [00:06:00] Okay. I'm sorry. I just, I gotta to tell you, do you really, really do?
John: So, so this person must have seen David. Maybe she went to the website. Mm-hmm. I don't know. And she said, Hey, how are you, David? I go, actually, my name's John. It's John Goobly. Shook her hand. She goes and she goes. She had touched her nose, you know, like people do like the mob things.
She goes, oh, okay John. And I'm like, no, no, no, it's John Gallogly. And she goes, oh, entertainment name. I'm like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I went from David Bourgeois to John Gallogly. Definitely. That was what I chose to
Tina: do. That is the name people are gonna remember.
John: Yeah. The super catchy. Uh, so that's, that, that's what I did.
Yeah. So, uh. So weird. So weird. But, you know, uh, uh, like apparently, can you imagine that choosing that as your, as your entertainment name? Like, I was like, no, my, my real name is John Smith, but I need an entertainment name. I went with John Gallogly went with that.
Tina: That's why the John G is better.
John: Yeah. Yeah.
So, but yeah. So again, uh, on both, both sides of [00:07:00] this, okay. As a voice actor again. Look for that work. And throughout the holidays. Mm-hmm. I know it's Black Friday now. Maybe I should have told you a little earlier. Yeah. I apologize. The information's getting out the day of little late to get a Black Friday voiceover right now.
Mm-hmm. But, um, all the other holidays are coming up.
Tina: Yeah.
John: This is the season. Tis of the season.
Tina: Well, you also never know though, even though you say it's. It is like today, but there will be last minute gigs too. Yes. There's a lot of times, Hey, are you available tomorrow? Yep. Any chance you can do Monday?
Something like that. Yeah. So you never know. It's not, you know. Yes. A lot of times they do plan in advance. Yeah. And give you a couple days or a week or whatever, you know, depending on their timeline. But sometimes it is a, Hey, can you get this done?
John: Yep. Absolutely. And again, uh, so Black Friday for that, uh, American Express Small Business Saturday for that.
Mm-hmm. Also, again. Reach out to us if you're looking for something far as needs. Yeah. Just any questions on any
Tina: of that stuff. Yeah.
John: Um, but also equipment. This is a good time. And, and, and I say that because I meet many new voice [00:08:00] actors and I say to them, and, and this is gonna be the exception. Mm-hmm. You know, I always have to say, there's always an exception.
Right.
Tina: Yeah.
John: But I say to people when I meet them. Because so many people wanna buy equipment right away. I don't know if it's exciting. Yes. I don't know why. They're like, I'm gonna just go and I always say, listen, that's not the first step. If you wanna become a full service provider, of course I support that.
Mm-hmm. If that's something you're interested in, you should absolutely do that. Makes more work available to you. However, it's not the first step, right? Mm-hmm. The first step is getting voiceover coaching,
Tina: gets the training done.
John: Yeah. Getting the demo and then look into, but here's an exception. Yeah. Maybe Black Friday deals are worth getting some equipment right now, even if you're not quite to the point where Yeah.
You, you, you know, in the journey mm-hmm. In your journey where you should be doing it. You're not gonna get better deals than now.
Tina: No, absolutely. 'cause if you just look, I mean, there's, there's such a wide, um, range. Price wise, when especially comes to microphone, yes. You can get a, you know, a $6,000 microphone.
Right. That would, if you've got the money, you know, but just think if you want that high [00:09:00] end microphone on a day like Black Friday or the small business Saturday, they're gonna have it on sale.
John: Yes.
Tina: You know,
John: and even the mics that aren't that expensive, like, you know, one of my favorite like kind of mid-range mics is a Bluebird.
Tina: Mm-hmm.
John: Right by blue and, and, um. I think normally, I think I bought it for like 300, which, yeah. Kills me. 'cause I look online. It's not 300 now, by the way. No, nothing has ever now, you know, as it gets, as things age, they get, uh, yeah. Less expensive many times. But, um, anyway, mid range, Mike, you're gonna get it like really inexpensively during this time.
Yeah,
John: yeah. So it's a good time. So also I, I think that, uh, you know, again, black Friday, this is our Black Friday. Mm-hmm. It is episode 6 96. Okay. We are four away. From 700 episodes.
Tina: Party.
John: Party. Big party. Big party.
Tina: I want the balloons and streamers coming down. Yeah, let's do that.
John: Yes. I think, I think, uh, yeah.
So how many weeks is that?
Tina: Th 4, 3,
John: 6, 9, 4 more [00:10:00] episodes after this. That's
Tina: why we do voice acting and not math stuff.
John: Yeah, I know. Four more episodes after this. We'll be, we'll be at 700 episodes. It's pretty cool,
Tina: right? Yeah, it is.
John: Yeah. And, and we started this podcast in 2008. How wild is that?
Tina: Wow. We've been doing this for such a long
John: time.
Not us. Not you and I, although I did. I started this podcast in 2008, um, and then some people took over and I'm back. Yeah. But in 2008, think about that. Most people weren't even podcasting then.
Tina: No, not at all now. Yeah. But now it's even better.
John: It's obviously with you and I doing it, it's way better. No offense to all the other hosts.
You're all amazing. You're all We're gonna get a hate mail. How dare you. I know you're all great. They're all great. I just think they were
Tina: fantastic.
John: Tina and I are like the Michael Jordan of voiceover podcasting. Yeah. Together it takes two of us.
Tina: Yeah,
John: because maybe the Michael Shorten of voice of our podcasting.
Alright, well there we go. I wanna thank everybody very much for listening. If you haven't subscribed. I would say, why haven't you say,
Tina: oh, just go ahead. Don't, don't shame 'em.[00:11:00]
John: So sometimes shame is a motivator. It's a motivator. Alright. Thank you very much for listening. Uh, again, I'm John.
Tina: And I'm Tina.
John: And we out.
John and Tina talk about two different advantages to Voice Actors on Black Friday.
