June 04, 2026

My VO Business Is Down 30%... What Should I Do? with James Brown

33 minutes

Is your voice over business down and nothing you try seems to be working?

In this Summer Series episode of the VOpreneur Podcast, UK voice actor James Brown asks the question that a lot of VOPreneurs are quietly panicking about right now: my business is down thirty percent, I'm marketing more than ever, what should I focus on to come out the other side intact?

Marc doesn't sugarcoat it.

His eLearning business was wiped out by AI in 2025. Trade pressures pulled his US clients. He lost more than sixty thousand dollars in income from clients who disappeared in a single year. And he's been doing the hard work of figuring out what comes next.

Inside this episode:

Why Marc's longest-standing eLearning clients told him "we hate it, but our competitors are using it" - and what that means for your business

The exact pivots Marc made: new coaching, a new commercial demo, a new corporate demo, and why he chose those two genres specifically

Why Marc is now marketing into Canada after years of focusing almost entirely on the US market

The audiobook genre Marc swore he'd never touch - and why he just booked his first one

Why booking rates on pay-to-play platforms are dropping for even experienced voice actors - and what to do about it

The "money read" concept: how to recognize when the read that was booking for you has stopped working - and how to find the new one

The single question every voice actor needs to honestly answer right now

If your business has taken a hit and you're not sure what move to make next, this episode gives you a real, honest look at what one working voice actor is actually doing to level up when the market shifts beneath him.

🎧 Subscribe to the VOpreneur Podcast on your favourite podcast platform - Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen - so you never miss an episode.

CONNECT WITH JAMES BROWN

🖱️ James Brown Website - https://jamesbrownvoice.com

🖱️ James Brown LinkedIn - http://linkedin.com/in/jamesbrownvoice

🖱️ Marc Scott on Instagram - https://instagram.com/marcscott

🖱️ Marc Scott on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@MarcScottVO

🖱️ VOpreneur® on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@vopreneur

RESOURCES FOR VOICE ACTORS

* VOpreneur®

➡️ Visit https://vopreneur.com

* Get an instant $25 credit when you sign up for VoiceZam

➡️ Visit https://voicezam.com/marcscott

* For voice over services:

➡️ Visit https://marcscottvoiceover.com

* Join the VOpreneur Facebook Group

➡️ Visit https://facebook.com/groups/vopreneur

Book a free 15-minute consultation: https://vopreneur.com/free15min

00:00 Summer Series intro

00:53 James's question - business down 30%, marketing more than ever

02:23 Marc's e-learning business got wiped out - the client conversation

04:47 AI and trade wars hitting at the same time

07:05 Focus on what you can control

08:00 Starting over - the honest conversation Marc had with his wife

09:31 Getting back into serious coaching

10:00 New commercial demo - why commercial is still a safer genre

11:39 New corporate demo - what Marc is seeing on Voice123

13:57 Niching down your marketing sequences

15:30 Pivoting to the Canadian market

16:15 Booking his first audiobook - the genre he swore he'd never do

18:44 The thinning out - what happens after the COVID VO boom

21:06 Double down or get another job - the binary choice

23:22 Voice123 profile optimization - what actually moves the needle

25:43 Working with a coach on auditions

28:04 The money read - when what was booking stops working

30:27 The one thing top voice actors never stop doing

32:51 Final thoughts from James and Marc

...more

View all episodes

By Marc Scott

4.8

124124 ratings