Start Doing Voiceover Full-Time with Mia Bankston (ColorVO Collective series)
In This Episode…
How we met 1:44
Mia's VO journey 5:41
Using your life experience and imagination to influence voice acting 10:28
Interpreting copy for auditions 14:42
Managing directed sessions 17:10
Transitioning into freelancing while still working for a full-time employer 22:48
Entrepreneurial discipline and sacrifices 33:25
Auditing your business and celebrating along the way 37:39
Entrepreneurial mindset and goal-setting 43:01
Help clients find you online via SEO 52:56
Success is... 58:45
Closing Advice 1:01:57
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Mia Bankston interview
Key Points
Gradually start doing more voiceover work during the hours when clients need you to be available. Ask for some half days off to do sessions, auditions and email clients. If you do shift work, try to switch shifts with co-workers. Negotiate with your employer to work earlier and leave earlier than your normal working hours, or start work later and leave later.
You will have to give up some entertainment to work on your craft, especially in the beginning states of building your business, You may need to sacrifice some dinners eating out or social events.
If you have young children, get support for childcare so you can concentrate on your business while you're working at home.
Evaluate your business from time to time and measure your progress and results against your goals— how many auditions do you want to complete per month? How many gigs do you want to book? What's your income goal? Do you need to land an agent?
Make sure your website includes SEO keywords so you can be found by potential clients in your sleep.
Decide how much you need to save before you can leave your current job to do VO full-time, and create a plan. Daree recommends the Qapital app (affiliate link).
Celebrate your wins along the way— don't wait to achieve a big milestones before you celebrate. And if you think that there is one pinnacle of success, and you can celebrate when you get there, you've got it wrong. You can be happy along the way. Keep moving forward— there is no "there." We're all constantly evolving and getting better as long as we make the effort.
Connect
Originally a stage actor, Mia Bankston has been acting for most of her life. She has had unlimited opportunities to “play” with the spoken word in theatre training at Tennessee State University and the Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. She obtained her voice over training from Edge Studio and continues to work with various private coaches. As a full time voice actor, her home studio is based in NYC. Her clients include OWN (The Oprah Winfrey Network), Nick Jr., Chateau St. Michelle, McDonald's, Random House, Toyota, Pandora Internet Radio, Secret Deodorant, Pantene, General Mills, Remy Martin, Shea Moisture, Independent Lens, TMJ4 Milwaukee, Bank of America, and NBC.
Resources
The following resources mentioned in this interview:
Daree's detailed advice about directed recording sessions
Any voice acting you do makes you a voice actor DareeVoiceover.com/reecordings/no-fake-vo
VO School Podcast featuring Mia on the VOcation 2020 Working Pros panel
Breakdown of typical costs associated with starting a VO business
VoiceOverview CRM (affiliate link)
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