We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Daniel Mills. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Daniel below.

Daniel, appreciate you joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

Voice acing was not something I originally pursued as a career. I was always so worried about someone saying “You’re not good enough” that I was too scared to even try. After graduating college, I decided to re-explore this old hobby of mine and I’ve never looked back. In fact, my biggest regret throughout this journey is that I didn’t start sooner. I spent way too much time worrying about all the potential negative criticism, instead of focusing on all the amazing things I could achieve. I told myself that not everyone will like me, as we all have favorite actors and actresses, and some we dislike. You can be the sweetest peach in the whole orchard, but there are just some people who don’t like peaches… and that’s okay! At the end of the day, I make it a point to have fun in what I do, and remind myself not to get so tied up on the little things.

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.

Ever since I was a child, I loved doing weird and funny voices and impressions of my favorite actors like Jim Carrey and Mike Myers, just to name a couple. It was something that came very naturally, and I loved seeing my friends and family laughing along. I spent a lot of time listening to voice over podcasts, watching tips on Youtube and just plunged head first into the deep end. I was the sole income provider for my family at the time, as my son was recently born, so I knew there was no room for failure. I was nervous, sure… but I knew it was something I had to at least try. Jobs started lining up, and I eventually formed an official business with an LLC. Today, I offer voice over services for many different types of media. For example, commercials, audiobooks, videogames, E-learnings, documentaries, and more! Often times, voice over is the final addition to a project so clients look to me to piece it all together. Some know exactly what type of voice they’re looking for, while others have no idea. I make sure to take my time and address the concerns of each client because I want the project to be as cohesive as possible. Oftentimes, I feel that other artists may try to rush through things to get onto the next job, but I want to be with the client every step of the way so I can be the voice that brings their vision to life. I take pride in the level of detail and dedication that I put into every single project that I work on. I want my business to keep integrity and quality as my top priorities for the client, instead of simply how many jobs I can complete in any given amount of time.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When my son was first born I was working….a lot. I would work 50 hours a week at my day job, and then another 40+ in the studio. Some days I would essentially work from 6AM until 3AM the next day, with a few 10-20 min power naps in between. As my business started lifting off, I knew I needed to take a step back, even if it meant slowing down the growth of my business temporarily. All the time spent in the studio meant time away from my wife and son. It’s incredibly difficult to balance it all, and sometimes you have to take a step back and re-evaluate where you need to be spending your time. I’m still active with voice over work, but have implemented a schedule to create a better work/life balance.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Hearing and seeing the whole project come together, and seeing the positive impact I have on people. It’s one thing to send audition after audition for various types of work, but seeing the end product will always feel like a celebration to me. It’s rewarding to know that the client chose me and trusted me to work on their project, and whether it’s from receiving fanart, to being able to hear my voice in games playing a kids favorite character or in an audiobook narrating an incredible story of a retired navy admiral is nothing short of an honor.

Contact Info:

• Website: danmillsvo.com
• Instagram: danmillsvoiceover
• Twitter: @danmillsvo

Image Credits
fanart of me as a barbarian was done by Cat Bachraty.