Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christi Bowen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Christi , thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
In 2011 I became a full time voice actor after almost 20 years in film and video production. After attending my first voiceover conference, I met others in the industry in Nashville and we started a Meetup group called Tennessee Voice Over Exchange. For almost 10 years we’ve been meeting monthly as a way to create community and educate ourselves on the business of voice acting. As the years went by, I was increasingly seen as the “go-to” person in Nashville for all things voiceover. I received lots of requests and comments during meetings that our members were interested in more educational opportunities. It sparked an idea I had always had in the back of my mind to expand the meetup group.
Having a brick and mortar location was always a dream. There are several others in the industry that have also opened training schools and I loved what they had built. It was something I wanted to bring to the growing voice acting community in Nashville. Being in a city like Nashville, there are so many creative people here with various backgrounds and experiences with voiceover. We have singers, audio engineers and on camera actors that want to expand into the industry after getting a taste but they just didn’t know where to go or how to start.
After running into a past colleague at a party, I had the opportunity to look at a rental space in a building that I had worked in for 11 years. It’s a creative space with a full video studio, edit facility and audio post production space; not to mention the other creative business tenants. It’s close to downtown Nashville and centrally located for students and rental clients. And it felt like coming home. I had been working from home alone for 10 years so getting to go into an office with other people again was an exciting prospect, especially to a building that I had worked in for so long.
All of this lead me to open Tennessee Voice Over Studios. Having a real location with all the amenities and a professional atmosphere gave me a sense of pride. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. It took a while for students to come and rental clients to catch on. Of course we opened in 2021 when Covid was still a big deal and we dealt with mask mandates and procedures for awhile.
There are several acting schools in the Nashville area but none that focused solely on voice acting. We’re also a VO studio rental facility. We were solving a few issues that voice talent were running into. They wanted more educational opportunities to work on the craft but they also needed a place to record that wasn’t a huge music studio that cost a fortune or had limited availability. Since most voice actors have home studios, when someone came to town and needed a place to record, it wasn’t always a convenient or workable solution to have people to your private home for recording. It also has liability issues. Opening the studio to anyone needing to record a simple voiceover session was a great solution for those locally needing a studio space or those from out of town that didn’t want to build a “pillow fort” in their hotel room and put up with not so great sound quality and bad internet connections. TNVO Studios solves all of that.
Regarding the training classes, we offer classes for all levels of people in the industry. We have workshops for visiting coaches that travel to Nashville and we hold intro classes for those interested in finding out more about the industry. I feel we cover a lot of ground with our offerings.
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.
I started voice acting in college while working in radio at WRUF-FM at the University of Florida. I thought I wanted to be a DJ but it really wasn’t for me. However, I really loved writing, producing and voicing the local commercials. My focus shifted to film and video work a few years after college but I was still asked to do some voiceovers occasionally. I ended up working on a few Hollywood features (Patch Adams and Galaxy Quest) but ultimately decided the LA life wasn’t for me. I moved back to Nashville where I got a job at a production company that had a government contract to produce TV and radio spots for American Forces Radio and Television Service. The spots were seen at military installations overseas and on ships at sea. As the contract was coming to a close, I knew I was ready for something different. I had done some voiceovers for the spots we created and it just clicked. Getting back into voiceovers was my new path. The day my boss was telling me what my last day would be, my email inbox kept chiming…I had gotten 3 VO jobs during that discussion. A door closed but a window opened!
My personal voiceover business kept growing and gave me the opportunity to work with many amazing clients all over the globe. I do mostly corporate work – narrations, eLearning, training, phone systems – with commercials thrown in as well. Political and automotive commercials are my favorite genres in VO. I work from a professional recording setup in my home to give my clients top quality sound. Customer Service is my biggest priority, whether it’s my personal VO business or for TNVO Studios. I believe in making sure clients and potential clients feel valued and comfortable working with me. Maybe it’s the Southern girl in me but I like to treat everyone as family.
Having been in the creative business now for 30 years, I feel I can offer my clients and students a descent perspective on the voice acting world. Of course, there’s always more to learn and things do change in this industry and I always want to keep up and not be seen as “old school.” I love learning so I think that helps in my teaching as well.
I think one of the things I’m most proud of is the network of amazing colleagues, clients and friends I’ve found. When you work from home in a very solitary business, it’s good to know there are others out there like you. In many businesses, we might be seen as competition, but I choose to think of my fellow voice actors as colleagues. It’s never up to us who gets hired, that’s someone else’s decision and it’s out of our control. I love my community – both in Nashville and worldwide. The people I’ve met in VO are some of my closest friends.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Honestly, my website. The company I hired, Voice Actor Websites, did my personal website as well. They are friends as well as business collaborators. The SEO for my site is amazing and I hear all the time “I found your website and want to know more.” Our ranking is very high when someone searches voiceover and Nashville. This has led to many studio rental opportunities as well as students for our classes.
Word of mouth is also a big driver of new students. I’ve heard many times that people were referred to us by another voice actor or friend in town. It’s nice to have the positive feedback and confidence in what we offer the community.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Having run the meetup group for 10 years has really helped grow my reputation as the “go-to” person for all things voiceover in Nashville. Additionally, I have spoken at many conferences and podcasts and people have gotten to know me that way. That elevates Tennessee Voice Over Studios’ reputation in the community. I also put out a weekly email called the “3 Stars of the Week in Voiceover” where I share industry happenings and highlight people in the community. It’s a service to the VO community at large, not just in Nashville or Tennessee.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tnvoiceoverstudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tnvostudios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TNVOStudios
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tennessee-voice-over-studios/mycompany/?viewAsMember=true
Image Credits
Christi Bowen/TNVO Studios