From Samurai Swords to 15k: What I Learned in My First Year of Voice Acting
(And What Actually Mattered)
My first "big break" in voice acting wasn’t a national TV commercial. It wasn’t a bestseller audiobook.
It was a $550 gig making TikTok videos for a company that made samurai swords.
I spent a few hours in my makeshift recording space, channelling my inner warrior, bringing energy to videos about folded steel and ancient blades. When the payment hit my account, I stared at it in disbelief. I just got paid to speak into a microphone.
For someone who spent years pouring himself into math, biology, chemistry, and physics during a Master’s degree, this felt like a glitch in the matrix. I was supposed to be an academic. I was supposed to be doing something "serious".
Instead, I was in a cardboard box I taped together myself with egg cartons and a blanket, talking about swords. And I felt freer than I had in years. Because I actually had fun.
The Result of Year One: Fast forward one year from that gig. I am not a 20-year industry veteran. I am not a guru standing on a mountaintop telling you the "secrets of success."
But in my first 12 months, while juggling two other part-time jobs, I generated between 15k and 20k$ from voiceover work.
I went from a cheap USB microphone to a small studio equipped with a Neumann TLM 103, a Sennheiser MKH 416, and an Apollo Twin X. I moved from recording under a duvet to a custom-built booth. I transitioned from hoping for luck on Fiverr, seriously underpricing myself and hurting my fellow voice actors (which I will talk in great detail about in later posts) to cold-emailing professional clients and building a real business. I went from doing this by myself to having real coaching and workshops with top industry professionals.
The Long Road to the Microphone People see the gear and the income and assume I just woke up one day and did it. But the truth is, I was scared for a long time, and I still am every single day.
How I started:
When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a gaming YouTuber. I watched PewDiePie and Markiplier and thought, I can do that. I bought a USB microphone. I had the ideas. I had the hope. But I never uploaded a single video. The dream fizzled out because I was paralyzed by the fear of being seen (or heard).
It took ten years for that spark to come back.
During the COVID lockdowns, a friend suggested I watch a group of voice actors playing Dungeons & Dragons named Critical Role. I was hesitant, 150 episodes? Four hours each? No way.
But I clicked play. And I was hooked.
I fell in love with the world they built just using their voices. I loved the acting, the camaraderie, and the magic they created out of thin air. I knew then, with absolute certainty: I want to do this too.
But the fear was still there. Am I good enough? The competition is fierce. I have a Master’s degree in science, not a degree in drama.
This time, however, I had help. A person who is very important to me, who is also a professional voice actress, gave me the courage to try. She pushed me to record. And that push changed my life. I will be forever grateful to her.
What I want this Blog to be
Let Me Be Straight With You I’m writing this blog because I want to be the person I needed when I started.
I’m not here to sell you the dream of quitting your job tomorrow and making six figures instantly. The internet is full of people selling that fantasy, and quite frankly, I’m tired of it.
I am writing from the trenches. I am just half a step ahead, which means I remember exactly what it feels like to be where you are right now.
- I know the "Tech Panic": Staring at expensive gear like the Neumann or the Apollo interface, wondering if investing $1,000 is a career move or a massive mistake.
- I know the Silence: Sending out 300 cold emails or auditions and hearing absolutely nothing back.
- I know the Confusion: Being told you need a $2,000 demo and a pro website before you’ve even earned your first dollar.
But I also know the flip side. I know the feeling of booking that first big client. I know the satisfaction of building a rate sheet that values your time. I know what it feels like to turn a "side hustle" into a legitimate business.
What We Will Build Together. I plan to publish here every week. My goal is to build a community that is honest, supportive, and transparent. We need to lift each other up because there is enough work for all of us.
We are going to cover the stuff that actually matters:
- The Business: Why Fiverr is a trap (and how to escape it), how to use rate sheets and why they are so important, and how to manage clients without losing your mind.
- The Craft: Why coaching with real professionals is the #1 investment you can make in your success as a voice actor.
- The Tech: Gear recommendations from someone who loves the tech (my science brain helps here!), from iZotope RX to the best interfaces.
- The Mental Game: Dealing with imposter syndrome, handling rejection, and maintaining your mental health in a solitary job.
Ready to Start? If you’re serious about making money with your voice—not just dreaming about it, but actually doing the work—then you’re in the right place.
I promise no fluff. No false promises. Just real numbers, real mistakes, and real lessons from someone walking the path right beside you.
Your voice is unique. Your story is unique. And you don’t have to walk this path alone.
If this sounds like something for you, please consider joining my blog and following my journey as I will do my very best to help you reach your dreams of becoming a voice actor.
Daniel Fjord VO