Entrepreneur Insider Series – Stephanie Ciccarelli, Voices.com

Stephanie Ciccarelli is from London, Canada. She started her voice over business, Voices.com, in 2004. Voices.com is the industry-leading website that connects businesses with professional voice talents. Radio and television stations, advertising agencies and Fortune 500 companies rely upon the Voices.com marketplace to search for, audition and hire voice talents with the assistance of their innovative SurePay™ escrow service and their award-winning Web application.

Starting the Business

Q: Where did the idea for your business come from? Where were you in your life and career?

A: Like most good ideas, this one happened at a kitchen table. Up to that point, my husband and I had run a modestly successful audio recording studio and had also done some voice over work. With our young family growing and recording at home becoming less and less practical, we found ourselves at a crossroads and needed to make a decision quickly. The facts were as follows:

• Our website attracted work we couldn’t fulfill using only our own voices
• Voice talent from around the world wanted to be listed on our site to get work
• We were at a stage in life where we no longer wanted to do voice overs

As you can see, these truths left us with what we perceived to be one of two options. We could either become agents, which we knew nothing about, or open a marketplace and serve as a platform for connecting buyers and sellers online. The latter was a more natural fit for David and I, ultimately enabling us to serve in the way we serve best: communicating important messages with excellence while putting food on the tables of our customers.

Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced when starting out?

A: The biggest challenge for us was finding a way to monetize the clients who hire voice over professionals. We tried a number of different ways to do this but in the end, what we learned was that a client would only feel comfortable paying once they were completely satisfied with the work that had been done.

After months of research and development, we provided a solution to clients hiring talent in the form of an escrow service we call “SurePay.” The wonderful thing about SurePay is that payment need not occur before a client knows what the final product sounds like. This solution solved a number of issues because it guaranteed that a client would be satisfied with the services rendered, the talent would be paid in full for the work and Voices.com would receive a modest transaction fee helping us to create a new revenue stream geared toward the client hiring talent.

Q: What is the one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started the business?

A: Something I wish I knew when starting the business was that there comes a time for everything. There’s a time for delegation and a time for carrying another’s load. A time for great triumphs and a time for disappointing setbacks. A time for strife and a time for peace. That each hardship we endure, like each success we experience, happens for a reason. Walking with God has shown me that nothing is wasted and in trusting Him, whatever comes my way, all things are worked for my good. For me as a Christian, having that confidence earlier on and trusting in that truth would have alleviated much of the stress, fears, uncertainty and discouragement in the earliest days running a business.

Q: What would you consider your first big success in the business?

A: It’s been said that a good name is worth more than riches. Our first big success in the business, a turning point for us really, was acquiring the domain name Voices.com (2006). Prior to that, we were InteractiveVoices.com, a name that could easily be misspelled, rearranged or difficult to type. It’s hard to build a brand around something like that. When we rebranded as Voices.com, it was as if the floodgates opened in terms of brand identity and with that, we were able to glimpse how industry dominance could become a very real possibility for us.

Q: What is the toughest thing about getting to the top / staying on top in your industry specifically?

A: Voices.com is cutting-edge, and for many in traditional circles, is considered a disruptive business model.

As a pioneer in this field who came from the industry, we were able to draw upon extensive knowledge, both theoretical and practical, to build trust with our customers and grow a community of supporters. While that certainly helps to build trust, we also value design and usability. The high priority we place on look and feel translates to so much more than just a great user experience. The way we project our service and its inviting interface sets us apart from competitors in our own space, which includes what some call Big League VO (voiceover).

Having built the site from the ground up and championing innovation as a key value, we don’t sit on our laurels. We’re always working to improve upon superior customer service and further develop relationships with key players to help us continue to grow our business and establish Voices.com as the new standard of hiring voice talent.

The Future

Q: Where do you see your industry heading in the next 5 years?

A: Over the next five years, more and more of the business that was traditionally done offline will be initiated, and even completed, online. I also see Voices.com gaining more market share as we continue to engage with new customers who are eager to join us on the journey. Our business is one of relationships, communicating and creating experiences so the transition may take longer than most, but I project more cooperation, stronger relationships and change coming that will draw competing parties together, particularly those who don’t currently run in the same circles.

Q: What do you plan on doing / changing in order to keep growing in this time period?

A: We’ve found what works and we’re ramping up our recruitment efforts for certain positions in the business. In the midst of growth, something that we are working hard to preserve is our company culture. Offering a professional environment where people feel invigorated, valued and that their work has meaning is very important to us. There’s nothing like a group of people who are rallied around the same vision working toward a common goal.

Q: What does ultimate success look like to you? How will you know when you’ve achieved it?

A: Ultimate success for us looks like loving what we do and continuing to do it with an increased passion fuelled by the flame that first set our hearts on fire. Living out our purpose in life is what keeps us in the race. We are running to win. There is so much work to be done, but when we cross that finish line victorious, we’ll know we achieved our goal.

Q: What do you think will be the biggest challenge facing entrepreneurs in the near future?

A: The challenge will be daring to hope. Being exposed to so many negative messages, particularly as they may relate to the economy, really drains people. What entrepreneurs need to reconcile is that while significant challenges exist, they can still create opportunities, make a difference and thrive despite great odds.

Q: What one piece of advice would you give to someone just starting out in your industry and wanting to make it to the top?

A: Know your stuff. Have a firm grasp of the industry’s ecosystem, make connections and identify what it is that you offer that makes you unique.