Sean Carney, yourhighness on Fiverr, is a recent graduate from Ithaca College, where he studied Integrated Marketing Communications (B.S.), with a focus on advertising, public relations, and marketing. He is the station manager of Ithaca’s award-winning student-run radio station and is also a full-time voice artist.
I originally heard about Fiverr a long time ago when I was looking into how to make a logo for something I was doing at the time. After successfully buying a logo through the site, I started to discover many different types of services that are available through the site, including voiceovers. I had also wanted to get involved with voiceover work because I have always been involved with radio, but never had a platform or experience to start doing voiceover work on my own. I opened my first voiceover Gig in 2013 I believe and went full time on Fiverr in May 2014 after my Sophomore year in college. I realized the key to success on Fiverr was consistency and taking breaks on the site didn’t help my business, so I went full time.
A Job Not Many College Students Have
Fiverr has given me a truly remarkable job and experience that not many other college students have. Many students tend to get on- or off-campus jobs to make money. This route isn’t bad obviously and is very normal, but the downside is that there’s not much room for growth and there are set hours. All of this at the expense of doing something you may not even enjoy. Fiverr has allowed me to gain experience as a small business owner to grow something on my own as a college student—something that stands out on a resume. As a Fiverr seller in college, I can work around my classes and make my own hours.
My advice to other college students looking to grow their Fiverr business is to work a lot, for little, for a long time. What I mean by that is to (1) truly commit yourself to your work and be willing to work every day. Consistency is always an ingredient to success, and it also forces you to master your skill even more. (2) give your customers a bargain they can’t refuse so you can gain a loyal customer base. This part is essential because there’s a lot of competition, so the only way to give your customers a reason to buy is to charge less than your competition. After you gain a solid market share in your line of work, you’ll be able to raise your prices. And (3) continue this process until you start to see significant success. For me, this took over a year.
Fiverr Has Given Me a Lot to Say the Least
It’s given me a platform to grow a passionate skill. It’s also given me an incredible opportunity to loan my services to thousands of clients all over the world from dozens of countries. Because of Fiverr, I’ve also been able to save money for my future and pay for everyday expenses throughout my college career—something I’m extremely grateful for. More than anything, though, it’s made me realize how much I enjoy working for myself and how much I would love to own or manage a large-scale business one day.
As I’m about to graduate college, I have a lot of thoughts about where I want to go professionally. I’ve put my application out to anywhere from radio stations to marketing agencies. Wherever I go, Fiverr will remain a part of my post-grad life. So much so that I have even thought about how to expand this business further and continue to pursue it to eventually produce a larger salary for myself.
I met a voice actor a few months ago that gave me some advice about going into the field and it really opened my eyes to realizing that I could possibly do this for a career. As of right now, I will continue on Fiverr as my main source of income with no plans to slow down. I’m really enjoying it and I think there’s huge potential for me to grow within the voiceover industry. I’d love to see where it takes me.
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