Help my Dreams of becoming a Voiceover Artist

Hello, and thank you for stopping by my page. I'm 42 years young, and I've had a dram to change my career to Voice-over work for sometime. Currently I am employed as a Kitchen Manager, but I would like to change that.   I think it started a few years back when I was chatting with some of my international friends from the Philippines and China. See, it used to be a very regular thing for me to Skype with my friends from Cebu and Manila in the Philippines and Guangzhou and Chongqing in China. While we spoke on a variety of subjects, we always seemed to get on the topic of English Grammar. I loved to help out my friends with their English lessons, or just to help them get a better understanding of the English Lanugage. They were always thankful for the help I gave them. Over time, they also encouraged me to do something else with my life. Well, I always like to make people laugh, and I often do silly voices while at work. it's great because I can sometimes play an impromptu role off of what somebody says. I've always liked the idea of telling a story and bringing a smile to someone's face. I then I looked into doing Voice-overs and found that it would be a great fit for me. Becoming a VOA would help me be more 'me', it would allow me to do what I love. Since then, I had a number of professional Voice Evaluations, all have been very promising and a number of people have continued to encourage me to pursue my new career choice. I've been able to get some free lessons on occassion, but nothing solid enough that would propel me into the Voice-over industry. It was going to take time and effort. What does a Voice-over Artist do? Voice-over Artists (VOA) are used in more areas than you think. Book and movie narrations are just one area that VOA are used. In movies or documentaries (actually called a Voice-under, but still performed by a VOA), to eBooks; even eLearning classes. If you've had to sit through hours of boring training videos at you last job orientation regarding safety, company policies, etc; then you sat through videos narrated by a VOA. VOA also work in radio programme reminding people of the radio station they're listening to and do sales spots you hear on the radio. Comapanies like UPS and Johnson & Johnson; insurance policy companies, beer comanpies and even aspirin. They all use VOA to sell their products. Your favorite show, like the Simpsons or Family Guy, is a great place for VOA to use their talents. Or even your child's favorite show. If you've played a video game lately, most likely some of the characters may have been voiced (by a VOA). Like most everything else, money is usually a factor in things. There are a number of basics needed, and while I do have income, my monthly expenses just don't allow me the means to purchase the minimal amount of equipment needed to begin actual VO work, even from home. So, I've decided to turn to Crowdfunding as a means to raise the money needed. The funds I raise from tis project will be used to cover the following expenses: Purchase of a new laptop computer for recording purposes. As mine is almsot 5 years old now, there's no telling how much longer it will last. Laptop would be best as portability is an issue, and if I do traveling for VO work, I will need this. This is probably the greatest cost to me - next to coaching lessons and Demos. Coaching lessons. Typically weekly lesson are purchased for a set period of time. Everyone needs coaching, even Michael Jordan had a personal coach.  Demos. Can be pricey and any good VOA will usually have 2-3 demos done professionally. Basic recording equipment - studio  condenser microphone, Headphones, Adjustable Boom stand, recording software. These things alone can keep me busy for the months to come, along with daily practice (and my current job). There are other, more specialized classes for things like Character Creation (like for Animations and Video Games), none of which I will be taking at this time. I appreciate you taking the time to look at my funding page and appreciate any assistance you can give in my future endeavors. Please share this on your Facebook page or Tweet this.