We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandon Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brandon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

When I was 18, I had just finished about six months working at McDonald’s while also graduating from high school. I wasn’t interested in following the typical path of graduating, then going straight to college. I wanted to work—especially now that I’d had a taste of earning money, even if it was just a little, at the Golden Arches. I wanted something closer to a livable wage, so I came across a job listing for Omaha Steaks. They were hiring outbound telemarketers.
The idea of being a telemarketer didn’t exactly excite me, but the onboarding bonus caught my attention. I submitted my application and what little resume I had. A few days later, I got a call from the hiring manager at Omaha Steaks. They wanted to do a phone interview before bringing me in.

After going through the basics, they asked me, “We see here that you don’t have any relevant sales experience. Can you tell us why we should consider you?”
Out of nowhere, I came up with the most poised and confident response an 18-year-old could muster: “While I don’t have specific phone sales experience, I’m involved in the sales process every day at McDonald’s. I greet customers over the intercom with enthusiasm, ask what they’d like to order, and fulfill their requests. What sets me apart from my fellow associates is that I ask customers if they’d like to add an Apple Pie or Shamrock Shake to their order—or, at the time, if they’d like to Super Size their fries for just a few cents more.”

The hiring manager was so impressed by my answer that they told me I didn’t even need to come in for an in-person interview. I got the job and started the following Monday.That experience taught me an important lesson early on: we all have transferable skills, even if they don’t directly relate to the role we’re pursuing.

Later in life, when I was launching my voice-over business, I applied the same methodology to situations where I didn’t have tangible examples of specific work. For instance, at that time, I didn’t have an ideal corporate narration sample to share with a potential client. Instead, I offered to create a custom sample and highlighted my experience working in the corporate world—from new hire to manager to executive—which helped me connect easily with those audiences. I recorded the sample, and the client booked me for a two-minute corporate video that their client loved.

We don’t give ourselves enough credit when we take on new adventures. Often, we can go so much further if we stop discrediting the experience we’ve already gained—no matter how insignificant it might seem at the time. Business is about communication, and if you can clearly convey where you fit in, even if you’re still figuring it out, you can lead with the success you’ve achieved so far.

Working at Omaha Steaks was my first real experience using my voice to communicate in a way that sold products. While the job was primarily about direct selling, there were moments of storytelling that made the difference. Looking back, I realize how much I relied on emotion, energy, pacing, pitch, emphasis, and perspective to make someone feel comfortable—and ultimately make a purchase.

I stayed at Omaha Steaks for a year, became one of the top performers, and then left when I realized my values no longer aligned with that type of work. It was a pivotal experience, one that taught me the importance of aligning your skills with work that feels true to you.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Brandon Miller, and I’m a full-time voice actor working out of my professional home recording studio in Eugene, Oregon. I specialize in commercials, corporate videos, eLearning courses, and audiobooks, with occasional opportunities to play character roles in video games and animated shows.

Unlike the typical voice actor origin story of growing up imitating cartoons or dreaming of becoming the next Bugs Bunny, my journey was a bit different. My earliest memory of being captivated by voice work came when I was 5 or 6, sitting at my grandfather’s house watching Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. The documentary narration fascinated me, though at the time, I didn’t think much of it.

As a teenager, I found myself doing voices and impressions just for fun, but the idea of voice acting never crossed my mind. My first real passion for performance came during my senior year of high school, when I discovered theater. After years of acting out and being a self-proclaimed punk, theater gave me a way to channel all that energy into something positive. I fell in love with acting, diving into stage and film roles in Omaha, Nebraska, where I even landed an agent. But by the time I turned 21, reality set in, and I was pushed toward getting a “real job.” That decision led to over 12 years in the corporate world, working in industries ranging from construction to craft beer.

It wasn’t until my last corporate role, that voice acting found its way back to me. While recording the company’s voicemail system, one of my bosses asked if I’d ever done voice-over work. I hadn’t, but the question sparked something. That night, I Googled “intro to voice acting” in my city. To my surprise, there was a class happening just three days later. I signed up, and halfway through the class, I knew with 100% certainty that this was my new career path. From that moment, I poured myself into learning the craft, gaining experience, and building the connections I needed to grow from someone who found voice acting fun to someone running a full-fledged voice-over business.

There have been so many incredible milestones along the way, from narrating audiobooks for Forbes to voicing a video game character to recording a commercials for the Bronx Zoo, Panera Bread, and DearFoams. This journey has been filled with hours of training, countless coaching sessions, financial investments, setbacks, rejections, and daily efforts to push outside my comfort zone.

Clients who work with me are often looking for a “guy next door” voice that blends confidence, relatability, authority, and realism. More than once, I’ve even had clients describe my voice as “buttery.” They also appreciate that I approach voice acting as a business—meaning I come prepared, do my homework, and deliver exactly what’s needed, right on time. My years in the corporate world, combined with a passion for creativity, allow me to bring something unique to every project.

On my website, you’ll see the phrase “The VO Craftsman.” That’s not just a brand—it’s who I am. Nothing about my work is cookie-cutter or generic. Every project I take on is custom-crafted, with a sound, service, story, and performance tailored specifically to each client’s vision. I love hopping on Zoom calls to learn about a client’s goals because it helps me forge a stronger connection to their story.

The “VO Craftsman” branding also reflects my love for the outdoors. Whether it’s chopping firewood, summiting mountain peaks, or skiing fresh powder, nature inspires and motivates me. That connection to the outdoors is something I bring into my work, adding a touch of authenticity and uniqueness that’s entirely my own.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Voice acting can be a low-barrier-to-entry business, financially speaking. A couple hundred bucks for equipment and a quiet padded room are all you really need. That said, I chose to invest more upfront, and here’s why.

When I first got started, I went to my local audio-video store and bought a microphone and audio interface for about $250. I used money from my full-time job at a brewery to fund this purchase. Around the same time, I had an old wooden shipping crate that had once held my grandfather’s grandfather clock that was passed down to me after his passing. While hauling the crate to the curb, it hit me: I could repurpose it into a makeshift recording booth. After a trip to the fabric store for foam and padding, I had my first booth, and I was off to the races.

Within my first year, I booked my first voice-over job. Slowly, things started to fall into place. I reinvested part of my earnings into upgrading my microphone and acoustically treating my recording booth. While working full-time at the brewery, I put most of my extra income—though it wasn’t much—toward growing my business. This included taking classes, joining industry organizations, and making small investments along the way.

After a couple of years, I reached a turning point. I saw a fork in the road: either go all in on my voice-over business or keep it as a side hustle. My employer knew I wasn’t bringing my entire brain to work and though I agreed I felt like my sole focus was on growing my business. They offered me an ultimatum, a pay increase to stay and being fully present or go all in on my voice over business. Logically, I wasn’t financially ready but in my gut I knew I needed to look after my future. I decided to go all in on my voice over business, but I needed a professional space and equipment to get there. Around that time, I had the opportunity to build a new home. I sold my current home for a sizeable profit and began constructing my new one with a plan to create a custom sound-isolated and acoustically treated recording studio. To fund the studio, which cost about $10,000, I sold my leased car for a profit and combined that with some of the profit from my home sale.

Once the house was built, I went full-time in my voice-over business. Every penny I earned was reinvested into my recording space, upgraded equipment, acting classes, and business training. That commitment has been a huge part of how I’ve grown my business into what it is today.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

As a freelance voice actor, it’s crucial to keep your pipeline full because you never know where your next paycheck will come from. There’s no one “best” source for getting new clients, but here are some methods that work for me and my new clients.

I work with talent agents and a talent manager, and about 20-25% of my new clients come from auditioning for projects and being selected as the voice for them.

Most of my new clients (around 60-75%) come from my own efforts. An oversimplified answer is, I find the companies I want to work with on Google, figure out who hires voice actors, and send polite but persistent emails to start a conversation. I love this approach because it allows me to be in control of my business and build new connections.

The last 10% or so of new clients find me through my presence on Instagram and LinkedIn, where I’m active. Sometimes it’s through a video they see or a conversation we have in the comments or DMs.

I also find work locally by attending events hosted by my local Chamber of Commerce, Meetups for Creatives, and offering pro bono work in the community.

Overall, it’s been a mix of strategies for marketing. As a creative freelancer, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.

People that know me, know that I love experimenting with different approaches. I think that’s what also contributed to my success. I’m not afraid of trying something out, readjusting and then going at it again. You know the saying “you only get one chance to make a good first impression” well, I believe that as long as we are coming at it with authenticity, curiosity, and being polite we have countless opportunities to make good first impressions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brandonmillervoiceover.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonmillervo/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonmillervoiceover/
• Other: email: brandon@brandonmillervo.com