S4 E9 | Milena Tinoco
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Stephanie talks to Milena Tinoco, an accomplished billingual voice actor who has been working to build her business over the last 10 years using tools like great training and positive mindset. Milena works in commercials, medical narration (she's also a registered nurse!), corporate narration, and more. They also talk about the specificities of being a bilingual English / Spanish voice actor.
Links:
Milena's Website: https://MilenaVoiceover.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milenavoiceover/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milenavoiceover/
Central FL VO Exchange: www.facebook.com/groups/centralfloridavohub/
(For working VO Pros living in Central FL)
Actor's Connection: https://www.actorsconnection.com/
Coaches Mentioned: Anne Ganguzza, Dave Walsh, J. Michael Collins
Milena's Mom's Clown Website: https://ooopsy.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@OoopsyTV
Making It To The Mic Website: www.makingittothemic.com
Instagram: @stephaniepamrobertsvo
Email: stephanie@stephaniepamroberts.com
Stephanie Roberts 0:10
Hello and welcome to Making It To The Mic, a podcast about how different voice actors got to where they are today. I'm your host. Stephanie Pam Roberts, and my guest today is Milena Tinoco. Milena is a versatile voice actor who works across multiple genres. We talk about the importance of mindset and how that can help make you a better voice actor, and the importance of training. So let's dive in. Here's my conversation with Milena Tinoco.
Stephanie Roberts 0:39
Hi Milena, how are you today?
Milena 0:40
Hi, Stephanie, I'm so good. Thanks for having me.
Stephanie Roberts 0:43
Oh, thank you so much for being here. So I love to start every episode by asking the same question, which is, how did you make it to the mic? Tell us about your journey. What did you do before voice over?
Milena 0:54
Well, it's so funny. I've listened to a couple of your episodes, and I feel like voice over is one of the few industries that we all have these, like, really wacky stories. No one's like, I knew in middle school I was going to be a voice actor. I was actually, like, a trial and error kind of person. I tried all the jobs. My mom's a clown. I, like, worked in her office for a little while. I was a licensed banker for a hot minute. I sold cell phones for Verizon for a little while, and but I always through all of that. Since a teenager was doing some commercial acting on camera and kind of doing little things here and there. And, you know, mid 20s decided that's not a real job, I guess. So I went to nursing school and became a nurse and worked in the ER and the ICU during the pandemic. It was a lot.
Milena 1:43
And all the while, sort of sprinkling in, like these little acting things. I actually didn't know anything about voice over before getting into it, I was kind of doing, I think I did an on camera commercial for an old insurance company called Safe Auto Insurance back in the day when I was living in Indianapolis, and they called me later on and said, Hey, we need you to come into a studio to record, you know, something. They changed the script. They want you to come and do the voice over for this radio something. And I said, Okay, I went into the studio. Had no idea what I was doing. And a few months later, I started getting these residual checks. And I was like, What? What is this? Tell me more. So yeah, I was kind of doing that on the side while going to nursing school, and I was fortunate enough to be going up to Chicago from Indianapolis for some auditions. Ended up through some friends, meeting an incredible engineer in Chicago. I don't ever mention his name in my story, but just a wonderful engineer. We became very good friends, and I kind of sat in on some sessions when I would go there. And I really was interested in it, but didn't really know how to get into it. This is about 2009, 2010 of course, at that time, there was a big voice over community. I just didn't know about it.
Milena 3:02
So he I did what I have heard a couple of people have done, and I feel like we all come full circle and all say the same thing. I started out doing all of the wrong things. I was like, make me a demo. Let me do it. And I begged for a year, and he finally against everything he morally wanted to do was like, All right, let's just try it. We'll let you record. We'll see what happens, and whatever. But I'm not making any promises. So I recorded a bilingual demo in 2010 in English and Spanish. And then, of course, like anybody with no training and no direction, I just had this demo, and then what, you know, yeah, I think he got me a job, like he pitched me for like, some IVR job, some small thing that I did my first year, and I did a coaching session with a coach back in the day there, met him at A hotel. He gave me a CD of my coaching session, and yeah, I didn't really know what to do, so I continued on through school, and eventually got on Voice123, that was the first site I joined in 2011 it was like a lot of practice, right? Just going and auditioning and trial and error. I started out on like the $495 I think, or $395 level.
Stephanie Roberts 4:24
Yeah, I think that's what I started out at, too. I don't even know if that level exists anymore.
Milena 4:29
Yeah, I'm not sure, but I would do that one and just audition for, like, everything, right, like everything I saw. I would just go on there and be like, Yeah, okay, I'm gonna try this. I'm gonna try that. And my booking ratio is, like, not great in 2012 you know, just again with no training. And I kind of took a little bit of a break from it at that time. Until the end of 2016 I had had my first son, and was a nurse. I was working, but I was like, man, I want to, I want to kind of go back to this voice over thing. And I called my engineer friend, and was like, hey, so I want to do this. I want to do it more. And he's like, yeah, so home studios are becoming more of a thing. You should probably get some stuff. And I was like, okay, so I went out and bought the focus, right? I feel like it's like the scarlet interface that everybody starts with. And then I did what any brand new newbie knows, nothing voice actor should do. I bought a TLM 103 because that's appropriate at that time in your career.
Milena 5:33
So I set up this little home studio in my basement, in this little closet, all carpeted. I tell this story a lot, because it's so embarrassing. I met up with this I somehow was contacted, maybe through Voice123, by this company. They're like, we're going to sign you, we're going to pay you $200 a session. We're going to do an hour session twice a week. So I'm like, what? $400 a week? Yes. So I am doing these sessions, and I'm getting during these sessions anywhere from 15 to 30 scripts. They're all 10 to 30 second commercials. They're all local, thankfully, and regional like radio and maybe some TV spots, but for big brands, IKEA, TJ, Maxx, Burlington, Taco Bell, these are, like, major brands. 2017, brand new, no training, no idea what I'm doing. I'm like, I've made it!
Stephanie Roberts 6:34
Right, but you don't know what you don't know!
Stephanie Roberts 6:36
Exactly! And I think back on that time, and I'm like, oh gosh, did that contract say perpetuity? Most of those spots sounded like they were, like, for holidays or for, you know, for certain amount of times. But it's so interesting getting into things and not really knowing what you're doing.
Stephanie Roberts 6:55
Shortly after that time, I started realizing, Oh wow, there's a community out there. I started seeing groups on Facebook. Started seeing that there were 1000s and 1000s of people successfully doing this thing that I want to do. Maybe they could be a good resource for me. But yeah, so I that's kind of how I started out, and I didn't get formal training, I think, until like 2019 which is really embarrassing to say.
Stephanie Roberts 7:26
But you know what? I love that. I think that's really cool. Because I, I know there's a lot of us that have come in from like, the theater background, but for people that are coming in from a not performing background, I think that's great that you at some point realize, like, I'm going to get some training. And you did, and I think that's, that's really cool to hear that it's, it doesn't have to be, you know, years and years and years of training right away. You know, at the beginning of your career, you can sprinkle it in as you go,
Milena 7:52
Sure, yeah, I feel like, and I always say to anyone who's starting out now who wants my advice on voiceover, the number one thing I tell them is, I'm like, you know, you can do what I did. It's just going to take you a lot longer. You know, I started out my first demo was in 2010 I didn't go full time until 2020, and I really didn't start seeing big success until I started getting really good coaching. Got great demos, and really got dialed into the community and learning the industry as a whole. Had I done that in 2011 or 2012 you know, this could have all happened a long time ago, but, you know, that was my journey, and that's the way that I needed to do things. I think a little bit of it also had to do with the fact that maybe I didn't really believe that I could be successful. It was always like, well, this isn't a real job. It's not a steady paycheck. I have to have like a profession. I have to, you know, hence nursing school, which was very being a nurse. I'm still a nurse. I'm still at my active license, although I'm not in the hospital, but that gave me a lot of purpose, serving and helping people and caring for people. So it took me a while to be like, you can actually do this. And I think 2020 was that year where I was like, okay, Milena, like, it's time to get serious. If this is something that you want to do and you're feeling called to let's do it the right way.
Stephanie Roberts 9:21
2020 was, it's been a theme on the podcast. 2020 was a very interesting year for all of us, for so many reasons. But I feel like there were a lot of people who had a great shift in their career During that time, and, you know, on this backdrop of this horrible global situation, but, but, yeah, I I've heard from many people that, for one reason or another, it helped propel their careers.
Milena 9:45
Yeah, I think it really, I guess, for me and the people around me, and just an observation, especially as a nurse in the hospital, just observing people and I was the type of nurse that I would come in and pull up a chair. I wasn't like, I'm not just gonna come in, draw your blood and leave and say, I'll be back. I was, I was getting to know my patients, even in the ER, even in that fast paced environment, and just in observing everyone, I feel like that time really kind of made us all take a look at our life and we're like, wow, this could end at any time. Am I living my life fully? Am I doing what I'm passionate about? And then also, there were, there were some people, thankfully, I was an essential, quote, unquote, essential worker, you know, but there were a lot of people who just got laid off. They didn't have a choice. They had it was like, sink or swim, you know, the world said, Hey, what are you going to do now? Because now you don't have a job, so they, you know, got to jump into these careers. I was very fortunate to have a career that I could have stuck with. And, you know, in 2020 I was feeling very burnt out. I wasn't feeling like I could be the nurse that I wanted to be. And I said, You know what? I'm gonna I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna bet on myself fully. Not just do this part time. I'm gonna leave the hospital. I built a studio in my house. Built a little, a little booth. I shouldn't say I built a studio. There's not anything fancy. Build a little booth. And and I was like, All right, let's do this. And I went all in on Voice123, again, that was where I really that's where I started. That's really where my where my focus was, before I had any representation, was all on Voice123, which I think it that's what you work on a lot too, right?
Stephanie Roberts 11:29
Yeah, yeah. I also sort of started there and built my career there. I am not a pay to play hater. I've put a lot of time and energy into Voice123, and I still get clients from it. I would say that the landscape there has changed a bit. I don't know if you've felt this as well. I definitely don't book as much as I used to there. I don't know if it's just no sheer numbers at this point, that there's just so many more people there, but some of my best long standing clients were clients that I met on Voice123, and because you're allowed to take them off the platform, same I believe you're not allowed to do on Voices, but on Voice123, it's your it's your interaction, and you can do with it whatever you want. So I still have clients that I work with regularly. So I haven't, I haven't thrown in the pay to play towel yet.
Milena 12:20
Yeah, I'm the same way. I always keep Voice123, kind of there I use I say I'm now at the $2,200 level, which, and I agree with you. I think the landscape on Voice123, has changed a lot. I think a lot of it does have to do with numbers. Do you know, during the pandemic, we had this massive sort of shift people hearing about voiceover getting to voice over, when in 2011 I don't remember seeing ads, I don't know about you on Facebook, that are like, make right, hundreds of 1000s of dollars in your pajamas, which is like insane to be putting out there into the world. But you know, you see these ads now that you know voice over, so easy you can get into it. And you know there's a lot more numbers. But I also the little secret that getting up higher on the $2200 and getting the getting the the auditions faster, that sort of spread like wildfire. And I saw even that grow over the last, you know, three years, yeah, where it wasn't like that, because you kind of get the stuff first.
Milena 13:14
And I agree with you, I don't book as much on there, but I don't book as much on there because I don't audition really. I mine has now, because I'm very blessed. My parents taught me Spanish before I ever learned English, so I have both languages. So I get to play sort of in both pools, right? My profile is like, I think it's like top 10 or might be 20% now, since, since I don't audition as much, but I'm usually it's sort of like a business card for me. It works more for me than my own website. I get people who just find me and just say, hey, Milena, I have this commercial. My client loves your voice. We'd love you to record it with no auditions. Or I'll have people just reach out and say, Hey, can you audition for this? So it's been, you know, it's been really great, and I kind of just keep it there.
Milena 14:02
And I also learned, you know, we talked, I talked about auditioning for all the things. I also learned that it's important to really focus on the auditions that you are strong with, that you know are in your wheelhouse, that you know you sound really great, so you get those thumbs ups and those likes, which helps your percentage and your writing, which then makes you more visible. So it's all understanding the algorithm, the ever changing algorithms of all these things, right?
Milena 14:29
Voice123, was very good to me my first year, I didn't replace my nursing income my first year, not even close. But I made good money for for like, you know, your first year full time in voiceover after my my first year. At the very end of my first year, a voiceover friend told me about actors connection, I believe it's called, they have these manager nights or agent nights. And she said, you know, you should. Go on there and read for these agents. I had had some demos made. I didn't have a Spanish demo, but I had some English demos made, and I had one maybe bilingual spot on there. And I jumped onto this agency night thing, I think I paid like 90 bucks, and they said you can read one commercial and you've got five minutes with them. So I wrote a commercial that was specifically bilingual, because I said, Man, I can only show them one. How am I going to show them? Yeah, that I've got both sides, and that I speak English very clearly, unaccented, and then Spanish with this neutral, you know, Spanish. So I wrote that spot, I read it, and they said... It was Atlas, Stewart, and CESD. And they said, Do you have any questions? And I said, Yeah, do you want to sign me?
Stephanie Roberts 15:50
Good for you!
Milena 15:53
You know, it's December, most agents aren't signing talent in December, which I didn't know at the time. So if I knew that, I might have been too scared to ask the question, so I'm glad I didn't know that.
Stephanie Roberts 16:03
Right! I think that if you come from an acting background, and you have baggage from whatever previous acting, musical theater, TV, film, whatever... I feel like, if you come from that world, I don't know there's just a different I don't know what it is. There's just, like, a different background that makes you feel like those people have all the power, and I have nothing, and they I think we forget that it's a partnership, yeah. And I think if you don't come from that world, and you come from a different world, and you're just like, do you want to work together? Like, that's a very normal question that I feel like a lot of businesses would ask another colleague and an agent, kind of, is a colleague, they're on your team. So I love that you just point blank, ask them. Okay, you can continue with the story. Now I need to know what happened.
Milena 16:52
Yeah, I just did it. I feel like I knew just enough to like, you know, I feel like if I knew any more, I would have been, I would have been too nervous to maybe ask, but, yeah. You know, Atlas ( I can't remember who it was that was on from Atlas, but she was so sweet). And she just said, you know, we don't sign, we don't take any talent. In December, we would love to talk to you, you know, after the first of the year. And I was very fortunate, both Stewart and CESD, both representatives from those agencies said they wanted to have a call with me the next day. We spoke the next day, and I ultimately ended up signing with CESD within days of that, of that interaction. And that really is what changed my career, that that shift was what just completely changed the trajectory of of where my business went and and I'm really grateful.
Milena 17:42
Yeah, I was gonna ask, what was the first year that you reached that six figure mark?
Milena 17:48
The first year I got close, my first year with CESD in 2021, but the first year, I will never forget. I was fun, fun story. I was filing for divorce, and right before doing that, we're really great friends. It was a very amicable divorce. Just needed to happen. But right before doing that, I was scared. I'm going to be a single halftime, single mom with my kids, and I was really scared, and I opened my QuickBooks, and it was October 1, 2022 and I opened my QuickBooks and it was at $99,980 And I almost fell over. I cried. Because, even then, even having, because, at that point, once I made six figures, I was with Stewart, I had already, I had several other agencies that I was with in addition to them. And I still, I didn't, I don't know that I still really believed in myself. I was like, Okay, I'm gonna make money, but I'll never be like, those people, I don't know they'll ever meet. So to see those numbers the first time was, was really cool.
Stephanie Roberts 18:48
Yeah, I love that. And do you think it was? Or maybe, do you have, like, a spreadsheet where you can tell, like, was it one big job that pushed you over, or you were just working so steadily that year, and then all of a sudden you were like, wait, I'm really close to this milestone.
Milena 19:03
Yeah, I was working really steadily, and it's been that way ever since. I don't really see dry spells, maybe for like two weeks at a time. But I've been really lucky again, because I have both languages, you know, so sometimes, like the the general American market. I'm maybe not my commercial that was one thing that's changed for me as well. The way the commercial read has changed. It took me a while to like, recalibrate and really let go of trying to be someone else reading this story and just be like, just be me talking to my friend, like, just stop, you know, and that that took a little while, but, yeah, no, it was consistent stuff. I do have one client who is a big job each year, but it's not that big that it was, like the thing that, you know, threw it over. But yeah, it was. It was just really consistent booking.
Stephanie Roberts 19:59
Yeah, right. And were a lot of those repeat clients, or it was just, you just happened to get both repeat and some new clients that kind of just kept that train rolling.
Milena 20:09
Sure, yeah, I have some really good direct clients. I don't have a ton, it's like a handful, maybe five, but they're really, really loyal, and they're really great jobs, and they come in every single year without fail, or every month without fail, and then the rest of it is booking through my agents, and just the incredible opportunities that they've put in front of me and that I've had the opportunity to read for sometimes I pinch myself when I look at some of these castings, and I'm just excited just to be reading for it, you know what I mean? And then if you get shortlisted, I'm like, what?
Stephanie Roberts 20:44
I love your positivity, you know, I feel like the slog can get kind of tough sometimes, when you're like, oh my god, I have 10 agent auditions today, oh my god, you know, the just the the overwhelmingness of it sometimes, and how you have to plan your day, and it's a little different every day. So I love that your positivity kind of, I like that mind shift that you're like, I'm excited to audition for this big brand today.
Milena 21:07
Well, not gonna lie, I have those days. I have days where, like, my kids are, you know, they're here, and I have a million other things, and I have this really incredible skill of over scheduling myself to the point where I'm like, want to lose my my marbles. And then I like, chill out for a couple weeks, and I'm like, I'm not gonna do that again. And then a couple weeks later, I'm like, oh, here I am. There are days when I when I sit down and I start to I feel it in myself where I'm frustrated. I'm like, Oh my gosh, I have so many emails. I'm all these auditions. And then I have to stop myself, and I have to say, Milena, you used to work in the ICU. I used to have patients who were trying to actively die all day long. And I said my job was like plugging a dam. I'd plug one hole and something else would pop open. I'd plug that hole, and they had 12 pumps, and it was highly stressful. I'm like, you get to read as a character in a little bit, right? And people pay you so much more than when you were saving someone's life. So anytime I am like that, I definitely kick myself, and I have to have, like, a whole moment with myself where I'm like, Listen, I'm very blessed. There are many people who don't get to do such an easy, fun job. And yeah, work always feel eventually it feels like work at some point, but yeah, I always remind myself in those moments that that I'm very fortunate to be doing what I'm doing.
Stephanie Roberts 22:27
How do you find most of your work? Is it all? Do you do any direct marketing?
Milena 22:33
If I'm being honest, I really don't like it.
Stephanie Roberts 22:36
We've had all sorts here on the podcast, some people who are like this is, that's the only way I get my clients. I spend all day, every day, doing that. Some people that are like, I've dabbled, and some people that are like, Oh, my God, don't make me send an email ever.
Milena 22:48
Yeah. So I say this often. I'm such a, like, not a business brain. So even when I ran my mom's office when I was young. So my mom was a clown since I was six years old. She has a character that she created named oopsie, the clown. She's incredible. She still does shows at 67 even though she looks 40.
Stephanie Roberts 23:05
Can we link it in the show notes so people can check out clown mama? I love it.
Speaker 1 23:09
Absolutely. She's awesome. She's also a magician, and she's also a stand up comic. And my dad is an acupuncturist, but he's also a singer. I was always in clubs while my dad was performing with his band. So I come from this really eclectic family, and I helped run my mom's business, but it was a small business, and I was just like, sending out proposals and answering phones. The business side of VO makes my brain hurt. I'm just like, CRM ... ew! It is definitely not my strong suit. So I have an incredible VA who helps organize my life. I finally learned, thanks to Marc Scott, his mastermind and the Voice Over Marketing Playbook, he helped me learn that I need to delegate some things out. So my VA does do a little bit of direct marketing for me, very minimal. And the most marketing he's doing for me is to, like, really, to get on rosters, not for, like, small clients, but he does do some of that for me, the majority of my work. When I go into QuickBooks and I break it down, it's agency is, is the majority of my stuff. And then I've got, like, probably 25% of my income is from my direct clients that I had, from Voice123, from years ago that have just been with me through the years. And then probably like 10 to 15% is people just finding me on Voice123, or referrals from incredible voice over friends who were always, constantly referring each other to people and just trying to boost each other up and hype each other up.
Milena 24:40
And I think that's an interesting thing too, because when you look at the breakdown, you may only get, not you personally, but a general voiceover, may only get one or two agent bookings, but those bookings are so much more typically, so much more money than working away at Voice123, or at a, you know, direct marketing or clients like that, the smaller clients that like, okay, sure, maybe I did 10 jobs and they were $300 each, versus, like, the one agent job that I happened to book a SAG commercial, and then all of a sudden it's like, well, that's it. That's the money for the year. So it's, it's interesting how each, each of us has, like, a different ratio and different, you know, ways that it can kind of fall out, but everybody that can get to that six figure mark, I think, has some basis of some sort of larger client.
Milena 25:29
Yeah, and I do, I do try to diversify as much as possible. It's, it's something you know, before I started, and even now, even with the income that my business is generating. I still look up to people like Carin Gilfry, Maria Pendolino, those that are like juggernauts in this industry, that are bringing in. You know, they're where I want to be, right? So I know Maria, very famously, always says it's very important to diversify. You don't want to lean only on agents, and it's something that I I'm careful about. You know, that's why I do a little bit of direct marketing. And I have that marketing. And I have that coming in, I pause it when I'm super busy, a little bit, I'll have him kind of slow down on that, because I'll get added to I'm on a lot of studio rosters, which is super helpful. When you don't really have to audition, they just kind of reach out and you kind of book stuff. So that's nice too. And then, like I said, I'll pop into Voice123, I may do like, one audition a week on Voice123, but yeah, people generally, like I said, they find me. I've got tons of samples of my work on there, and they usually will reach out to me. I usually get three to four emails, organic emails, from Voice123 a week.
Stephanie Roberts 26:36
Oh, that's amazing. I feel like I haven't heard that from people in this monetary level. I feel like when you bump up to the premium platinum, whatever it is, I've that highest level. I feel like that really opens up a lot of those like direct messages from people like you show up more in the searches. But yeah, is there a genre that you make that you think makes the most income for you.
Milena 27:00
Oh, commercials, hands down, yeah, the majority of my work is, is in commercials. I do a little tiny bit of explainers here and there. I'll do some, like, corporate narration, a little bit of that. But obviously, you know, everything through my agents, that's coming through is, is commercials. I do some industrials through them, sometimes, some sag demos, here and there, but the majority of it for sure. The reason my income level is where it's at is because I do commercials.
Stephanie Roberts 27:31
I had another bilingual guest, Rob Moreira, who said that a lot of times he actually doesn't do the commercial in both languages. How has the experience been for you?
Milena 27:42
Yeah, it's interesting. Sometimes I don't, and I had a very humbling experience. A couple of years ago, my first national campaign was for Total by Verizon, when they were announcing the brand, when they first started, and I booked the English. And as soon as I booked the English, CESD Anita, Billy, one of them called me and said, Hey, so they want to do Spanish too. We've pitched you. They're just going to need you to audition. We all thought I was a shoe in. We were like, Ah, she's got the English. She's going to get the Spanish, obviously. And I read the Spanish. This is in 2021 I think I read for the Spanish. And I didn't book it. My Spanish sounded like somebody who was born in the US, and it just wasn't it just wasn't crisp enough, it wasn't clean enough. And Diana Holgen, I'm probably saying her name wrong. She is also Colombian. She's an incredible voice actress. She actually booked the Spanish version. I always tell her, she's my she's my Verizon sister and she did such a wonderful job. And her Spanish is way better than mine.
Milena 28:41
And at that point, I started coaching specifically in Spanish to work on my enunciation, just to really work on also inflection. I learned Spanish before I learned English. I didn't learn English until I was maybe five years old, so I did only speak Spanish at the time. But when you grow up in the US and you go to English speaking schools, English becomes the primary language, and I do think in English. So there are some instances in which I'm now much better at it. But before, my inflections weren't necessarily the native Spanish speaker inflections of how they would musically say that sentence, interesting, which I'm getting a lot better at. And I always say, you know, if they need, if my clients need, another Spanish voice, I have so many incredible contacts other voice actors who are Latin, native Latin American speakers, who actually live in Costa Rica or Colombia, or were born there and then came here, and their Spanish is a lot stronger, which is wonderful. I always amp them up, but yeah, for me, I totally went away from your question. You asked if I voice it in both languages?
Stephanie Roberts 29:47
No, this is a great tangent, though, because I think I don't speak any other language, and so I find it so fascinating for people who do speak two languages but don't voice I would also have thought like, Oh, for sure, you're gonna get why would they bother trying to find somebody else. But you're right there's little like specifics that are needed in each language.
Milena 30:07
Oh yeah, it's it's definitely nuanced. The most popular Spanish, the neutral Spanish, is really like Mexico City Spanish that is really like considered the neutral Spanish. It's the most everybody, pretty much understands it, and you can understand all Spanish, but there's it's nuanced, right? Colombia has depending on what part you're from. My parents are from the coast, from Cartagena. So our Spanish is a little bit more Caribbean, a little more loose. It's still proper, because it's Colombian Spanish. But the Spanish in Colombia that most people think of is like the paisa Colombian Spanish near Medellin, near this, this other area of Colombia, and it's more proper. It's got this very specific tone, very specific inflections, but learning that Mexican style Spanish is really important, because that's really what they're looking for. As far as as neutral. I have some some friends in VO that are Argentinian, and they struggle booking sometimes, because it's like, their Spanish, and you can tell it's got that sort of Spain, Catalan sort of influence. And it's really interesting just within that one language, how there's, you know, English. We're like, you just want unaccented English. We're like, got you let's do this. Spanish. It's a little bit more nuanced.
Stephanie Roberts 31:21
That is really, really interesting and so helpful, I think, for anyone who's listening who is bilingual, because, though I, I've, I've had a few bilingual guests, but I don't know that I've heard that described in that way, and that's, that's really interesting. So you could potentially say, like, I want to coach to make sure that this offering not only like, Ooh, I speak Spanish, but like, very specifically that you speak exactly what their the client is gonna want.
Milena 31:49
Exactly. And sometimes in castings, they'll ask for a Colombian accent, or they'll ask for a Costa Rican accent, or they'll ask for a Puerto Rican accent, especially on the East Coast, we have so many Puerto Ricans from New York all the way down to Florida. You know that. So sometimes they'll ask for that specific accent. So I know many voice actors who are Puerto Rican as well that can speak with that Puerto Rican accent, and they can then the neutral accent. I mean, they're like triple threat. They've got the English the neutral and they can do all of those things, which is really makes them even more versatile, which is really great. And I don't, I I don't try to compete in Latin America and Spanish, because those voice actresses are so strong, they're so good, and I just know that they are going to be better than me. I sort of know my strengths, and I know my areas of opportunity, and I work really well within that zone.
Stephanie Roberts 32:38
You had mentioned a little bit ago about how you feel like the commercial read has changed. So how do you approach auditions nowadays? What do you think that kind of like special sauce is that they're looking for now?
Milena 32:51
It's real. I feel like we're so sensitive to not be... well first of all, we're constantly being sold things right? Like you can't talk near your phone about butter, because then you're going to get all the butter. You know. You can't talk about sneakers. All of a sudden, you're getting so from your phone to your TV to your Spotify, we're constantly being sold things, and the biggest change I've seen is like, we're just so sick of being sold things, and we're so sensitive to what's real. So if the read doesn't sound connected. And Dave Walsh has really been helping me with this, gosh, he's such an incredible coach. Just that true tell and really being connected when you are delivering those lines. People hear it. They can, they can feel it when it sounds it starts to sound announcery or it's just not authentic. It's not genuine, right? So that's been the biggest thing for me when I when I look at a script, you know, before 2011, 2012 like when I was first starting, even in 2017 things were very like at Walmart. We're doing this at TJ Maxx we're gonna talk like this. You know, everything was more like, we're really smiley, and now it's more like, Hey, did you see what they have over at TJ Maxx? Oh my gosh. You know, they, they really want you to sound like you're talking to a friend.
Stephanie Roberts 34:16
Yeah. And I think that's sometimes like, I don't know, I get in my head about it, and it's, it's hard to, like, do I talk to a friend like that?
Milena 34:24
Yeah, oh my gosh. Girl, me too, because I'm like, I cuss a lot when I talk to my friend, like, in a classy way, like, in the classiest, sweetest way possible. I'm not cussing at my friends. We're just a little like, you know, yeah, I definitely talk to my friends a little differently than I would in the voiceover world. And sometimes I will do a read where I'm like, All right, my best friend Crystal, I'm telling her, this is exactly how I would say it to her. And sometimes I do do a read like that, but it's funny that you say that, because I think I ask myself that question, like every audition, I'm like, is this how I would say it to a friend?
Stephanie Roberts 35:00
For sure, because also at the end of the day, they do want that for the audition, but then I feel like, then sometimes they don't really want that for the actual spot, because they still do have to sell something. So at the end of the day, they need a little balance of both, but they have to, we have to start from a more real place, so that they feel that connection. I think that's what it's all about, is the connection of like, I'm buying what this person is saying, I believe them. And then they're like, oh. And then you get into the session, they're like, actually, can you make it a little peppier? And you're like, yes, of course.
Milena 35:31
Yes, exactly. And then the final product, you're like, that didn't sound at all like my audition. But if you're happy, I'm happy. Oh my gosh. I can't tell you how many times you've done that. They're like, we loved your audition. We just loved it. And then we get into the session, and it's just completely 180 and I'm like, All right, well, that's cool. You love my and I tell myself. I'm like, they did love your audition, but they also love this. So here we go, right?
Stephanie Roberts 35:54
And it's hard not to get into your head there too. You're like, am I giving them what they want? Are they gonna come back to me and be like, what did we do? It was horrible. It's too peppy. We have to get her back in. So I always have to trust that all of the people on the call are being paid a lot of money to, like, develop this campaign, run the session, whatever, and and I have to trust that they have had many meetings about where they want this to end up, so, but it's hard. It's hard in the moment.
Milena 36:24
Oh, yeah, exactly, exactly. I think I've gotten, I've just gotten used to it now. Now I'm just, I kind of expect it. When we do stick to exactly how my audition is, I'm like, Oh, wow, what a treat. You know, it's like, oh, that's the surprising part. But man, I love live sessions. I love directed sessions. I come alive in a directed session. I love trying to what's great when you have a really, really wonderful director who is great at articulating exactly what they want, yes, and you can take that, that's really great. It's challenging when you have someone's like, I don't know, can you like, I don't know. It just needs to be like, you know, just do it again. But I love it. I love just interacting with them. And I love immediate feed, like, instant gratification. I love that feedback when I do something and they're like, Ooh, that was good. But even if it's not what they want, and they're like, that was good, not what we wanted, let's try it again. I'm like, okay, challenge accepted, cool. But in those moments when they're, like, nailed it. That was brilliant. I'm like, yes!
Stephanie Roberts 37:25
Yeah, I feel like that too. It's, it's again, you know, from a theater background, you never have, you're never in a room by yourself, like doing a theater thing unless you're practicing, you know, like, there's always interaction with the crowd or with a director or your fellow actors. And so, yeah, I love the directed session. And I have said many times that I wish that we could just audition together, like next audition, just you just call me up and we are going to do it together and then actually talk to a human because I think it changes it. I think it does, you know when there's times when we, when I've, I got an audition a few weeks ago that specifically said, please read with a voice over friend. There's, it's supposed to be two sisters, so please, like, if you have somebody find them. And I was like, Oh my God, that's fun. It was so fun. And it was amazing, because it was like, Yes, great. Now I can play off of something instead of just imagining what the other person might be saying
Milena 38:23
Exactly, exactly. I've never gotten that that's awesome. I have had, like, the zoom, the Zoom auditions, where you're like, in a room, and then they you pop on, and then you interact with other people. But that happens very rarely.
Stephanie Roberts 38:34
Yeah. So I know you had said that you don't really experience slow times, but I'm curious, like in those moments where it feels like, Oh, something coming next, like, what's gonna happen? Like, how what you do to fill that time in your business, or how you stay positive and don't kind of fall off the cliff, like we all tend to do, like, that's it. I'm never booking again.
Milena 38:55
Oh my gosh, yes, I've had many, many of those moments. And I shouldn't say I never have slow time. Like, I'll have a couple of weeks, or maybe two or three weeks where I haven't booked something, but I've noticed that 2024 was was a major shift for me, because I went from single six figure to more than that. So it was a big shift for me. And I noticed that part of it, and I this might not be it might just be coincidental, but I don't think it is.
Milena 39:24
The year prior, I was in Marc Scott's mastermind group. It was just post me getting a divorce. There was all these major changes in my life at the time, and I thought that I was, like, good with everything. Like I said, it was very amicable. No attorneys were very peaceful, good friends, like, everything was amicable. I was like, this is fine. This is fine. And I didn't notice that I was really it was bleeding into my work, and I was coming to meetings very sad. I think I cried during a lot of meetings. And I look at my QuickBooks from January 2023. I always look back and track and compare, right? And my bookings were almost nothing. I was coming to auditions, carrying all of that right. Had this mindset like, oh, all this stuff is happening and I'm not booking and feeling bad for myself, and that all shifted. You know, a lot Marc is very into mindset, and it's something that we would talk about in our group a lot, because a lot of people had challenges, right? I'm not the only one going through something, and I'm very blessed that that's like the big thing in my life that was sad. A lot of other people have gone through much, much bigger, more tragic things.
Milena 40:36
And I decided at the end of 2023 going coming into 2024 I was working on it through 2023 really trying to dig myself out of that, working on myself, going to yoga, meditation, working out consistently prioritizing sleep and prioritizing really self care so that I could be a better mom, so that I could come to the mic happy with my cup full, and really be able to perform from A good, solid foundation, as opposed to coming, falling apart, looking at the screen and then trying to, like, will myself to deliver this copy. I really, I think, got a hold of it near the end of 2023 as far as my routine, the things that I know are non negotiables, like, I have to sleep seven or eight hours a night minimum, or I'm just not nice. I have to like, I'm not mean. I just fall apart. Everything kind of gets to me if I'm not working out or any sort of movement, yoga, going to the gym and and also gratitude every single morning, doing gratitude journaling. And my gratitude journal has always has something to do with, you know, the health of my family, something simple that people take for granted, like I'm breathing this morning. I can walk my legs work. The health of my kids and my family. I have both my parents. What a blessing. Most people around me have lost at least one parent.
Milena 41:53
You know, I'm 40. I'm at that age where, like, everyone's kind of losing their parents, just those little things, but then also saying thank you for what is coming. I'm so grateful for the opportunities that my business provides to me. I'm so grateful for the abundance work flows to me easily. I'm so grateful for my agents, for my clients and just I'm so grateful to have this amazing business that provides for my family every single morning, and that shift in mindset for me, I don't think it's coincidental, but like I said, I've more I more than doubled my income from last year before July. Yea it's been a really, really beautiful year. This year, I I've been very, very blessed, and it's absolutely the team I have around me, right? It's absolutely the people that are supporting me, people I'm coaching with. I coach with JMC, Anne Ganguzza, Dave Walsh, my Spanish coach, Betty. I'm coaching with wonderful people. I have incredible sort of mentor friends in the VO world that I can reach out to when I have a question, constantly trying to better myself, approaching every read with that gratitude. Like, man, I'm so grateful to have this and yeah, and I, I've really seen a difference this year. And then also, to my surprise, this year, my first VO Award nominations. I'm leaving to Dallas in like four hours. It's just been a really it's been a really cool year, and I it would be really difficult for me to say that it didn't have anything to do with that shift in mindset and with just the way my outlook in general, of life and of my business?
Stephanie Roberts 43:43
Yeah, I think that's so important. It's so hard to do this. We spend so much time by ourselves and so much time, you know, trying to get in the heads of complete strangers and interpret specs and, you know, figure out what people want and, and there's a lot of, I think there's just a lot wrapped up in that and and I love that positivity and that, you know, clean, clear mindset coming in. My daughter is seven, and we went through some real rough times with her. She just was having a tough time. It was like, I don't even want to work. I'm so exhausted from trying to figure out what to do next with her and dealing with that. And, you know, during the pandemic, when we were all home and just like going nuts, it was really hard to get in front of the mic and be like, Okay, here we go. And and I think that you know, so much of what happens outside the booth does affect what happens inside the booth
Milena 44:41
100% and when you're showing up with a cup empty or half full, and you know, we talked before the show, my son's seven too, and it's, there's something about this age, just like or last year. It's, it's challenging, man, he pushes me to my limit sometimes. Like, you're not even a teenager yet. Oh my gosh. Um, but yeah, I think that self care and and also, like taking times, remembering to take time.
Milena 45:12
There was a time when I was like, hustle, hustle, hustle. Like, just before and post divorce, I was like, I gotta audition for everything. I had to do everything. Like was I would wake up me like, rise and grind, gotta hustle. And when I sort of backed off that and gave myself some grace, and was like, Okay, I have work I have to do today. You know, I'm very fortunate to have these auditions, so I've got to do them, right? And I have this partnership with these agents, you know, I'm going to do the work, but we're not going to come at it like you had to hustle and grind and like, there are some people who thrive with that mentality. I am not that person. It once I do that for like, three or four or five days, I completely shut down. And I'll have a day where I like, don't even get out of my pajamas, and I just, like, lay around all day because I'm just done.
Milena 45:56
So I feel like on those days when my kids have, like, really overwhelmed me, sometimes I'll plan on doing auditions once they go to bed, and on days where they, like, really just test me. Because, of course, you know, it's just me with them now, when I have them at the house, there have been nights where I've learned because there were times when I would stay up until 1am just trying to do auditions, and I would do like, 12 takes because I'm just not in the right headspace. And I've sort of learned now where I'm like, Okay, I need to just draw a warm bath, lay down and breathe. I'm gonna go to bed early. I'm gonna get up an hour and a half earlier, have my coffee, have my quiet time, do auditions before they wake up. And that's how I need to adjust in order to show up, the way I need to show up, and the way I want to show up as a performer, because I want to be known for doing good work. I don't want, you know, these people are listening to the auditions my agents, like my agent, they've never have but I can imagine if I was sending in auditions where I'm just like, wah, wah, they'd call me and be like, what is happening? What are you doing, you know? So, yeah, it's a lot balancing motherhood and a business and and all the things and the house and being a good friend and a daughter and a wife and, you know, all those things.
Stephanie Roberts 47:14
Yeah, I think I've, I've learned to set some boundaries as well, especially at night. My husband works at night, and so I do bedtime, except for one day a week, it's me for, like, dinner, bedtime, after school time, and it's tough. I used to put her to bed and then be like, okay, don't, don't go downstairs. Go right upstairs, go right to the booth, like, knock out some more auditions. And I have learned that unless I absolutely have to because I've gotten something late or I've missed a deadline for some reason, it's just not my best work time. It's not my best headspace. I'm tired, I'm not feeling like particularly creative. I'm not putting out my best work. And then you're right, like, you send it to the agent, and you're like, Here you go. Sorry,
Milena 47:58
totally phoning it in, sorry.
Stephanie Roberts 48:00
And I think they can hear it, you know. So I too have have decided, like, after bedtime is not, it's not a good work time. And I've kind of set that boundary.
Milena 48:08
Yeah, the fact that you can acknowledge that and see that is so smart, and it took me a while to do that, honestly, I would, like, I would try to, like, burn the candle at both What did they say? Burn it at both ends, or whatever. And I've learned now that like, Hey, it's okay. And I've actually found like, now I don't swing the pendulum all the way the other way, where I'm like, I need a mental health day every other day. I also don't do that. I don't like given you can't always do things just because you feel like doing them, and if you don't feel like doing them, you just don't do them. So I don't have those days, you know, there are days where I get up and I don't feel like doing it, but I get out, go for a little run, do some jumping jacks. And I'm like, All right, let's do this, because you're blessed to have this job. But I have noticed that when I stopped having that hustle grind, gotta do all the things, gotta make all the money, gotta survive, sort of mentality, when I started relaxing and just being like, okay, it was very hard for me to say these words. It took me years to be able to say these words. And I've like, had to really like, I'm good at what I do. It's for me. I was like, couldn't admit that to myself. I'm like, okay, I'm good at what I do.
Milena 49:12
People would ask me how I became, how my business grew quickly. And I'd be like, well, I speak two languages, and I have a great agent. And then people close to me were like, and you're talented. I'm like, um, I'm like, I don't like that. That's cringe. I'm not saying that in Yeah, so now I'm like, Okay, you're good at what you do. Be grateful for the work that comes in. Let's go into this like it's fun. Let's go into it and Let's optimize when we're what times are the best times to work and that sort of fit in with that whole self care routine that I have. And in doing that, I absolutely book so much more with the mentality of just like we're just going to chill, this is my business. We're going to do this. We're going to work at the hours that work best for me, and we're going to do it in the way. That works best with my life, and I'm not gonna stress too much about it. And once I started doing that, it just kind of all, you know, fell into place.
Stephanie Roberts 50:09
It's also the quantity versus quality metric, like, I think, if that's not working for you, to record a bunch of, you know, 50 auditions in a day, because maybe two of them are good, and maybe the rest are not great. You know, if you're focusing your energy more into two awesome, solid, really connected auditions, you're probably more likely to book those two than to just throw spaghetti at the wall with 50.
Milena 50:36
Exactly. And I never, never, never, ever, ever, ever, would pass on anything. Ever, I was always, if an audition came to me, I was like, I'm doing this. And I've learned, like, now there are certain things like, I've gotten things that are for maybe an older voice even so I'm 40 for whatever reason, in my VO's, like I sound younger, I guess. But I'll get like, 45 to 55 or something. And I now, depending on what it is, I can get warm if it's like a nurse or doctor, but like, there's been some, like, monster truck rally style reads that they need. That's just not me. And I used to try to do that and sort of hurt my voice and and now I've kind of been like, my agents don't really do that. They do send me pretty specific things, but occasionally they'll send something through and they're like, just, just in case, I thought maybe you'd want to read for this. And I've, I've had to be, I've learned to be okay with being like, yeah, you know, and I'll try it sometimes, and I'm like, this just isn't in my wheelhouse. And I'd rather you not send something that's like, the the casting director is like, what? Why would you send me this? I'd rather just pass than, like, the casting director get it and be like, Milena, and then now they see my name, right? They see my name, they see my read. They're like, this isn't what I wanted, you know, right? They're like, Don't listen to her again. Exactly their next time they see my name, they're like, Oh, great. This is the girl that sucks or doesn't do what I ask. So I've also, like, learned to be okay with saying to understanding where my weaknesses are and where I'm not great at things, because, you know, our voices aren't great for everything, and knowing where my strengths are and kind of leaning into that.
Stephanie Roberts 52:13
Yes, I always say I also have a youthful voice. And I always say, like, if it says gravitas, I'm like, I struggle with, I try!And I thi nk once you reach a certain point of your career, whether that's that confidence level comes from the money you're making or the time you've put in, or both, I think when you reach a certain level, you can be okay with saying, I will pass on this based on many you know, factors could be you don't agree with the rate, or you don't ... exclusivity or usage...
Stephanie Roberts 52:36
It's hard to pass on the agent auditions. It's very easy to just scroll past on Voice123, and be like, No, but to actually have to like, own up to it to somebody is hard, because you know you want to be like, I will do everything, and you know you want to seem like a team player, but I think that's another part of being a team player is realizing, like it's not gonna be me. I'm not gonna waste my time, your time, or the casting directors time listening to me give you gravitas when clearly somebody else is gonna book it.
Milena 53:14
Yep, and you're so right. Voice, scrolling through. Voice123, there's nobody there to give you feedback, but the agents I have such good relationships with mine that they're pretty cool when I when I reach out and I don't pass on much, I really don't, sometimes there's some overlap that I run into, because that's another thing that I did that if anybody's new and is listening, having more agents is not necessarily the way you're supposed to do it. It's not necessarily a good thing. My agents are all wonderful, but I do see some overlap, because I didn't realize, you know, in the beginning, when I was like submitting to all these agencies, I didn't realize you can have one really great national agent and that's it. You could just be with Atlas, or just be with Stewart, or just be with CESD, and that's it. And you don't need to be with another national agent. Of course, the regionals are another story. You can have your regionals, which I had, you know, I have a bunch of regionals, but I didn't know that. So I signed with CESD in New York, and then about four months later, Stewart, Chicago reached out to me. I love the girls there, Wendy, Sheila and Kim, girl power. They're incredible. They're so fun. They reached out and I signed with them. And then, I don't know where I got this information, but I thought I needed an LA agent too, I don't know. And I was signed by SBV. They're wonderful, too. Erica, my agent, is incredible. But there is some frustration sometimes, because, of course, with SAG, especially during the strike too, there was a lot of overlap. There wasn't a lot of SAG work coming out and there that did cause some it does cause some, some stuff. So my recommendation, and for anybody who's been in the industry for any amount of time, they're all going, Duh, yeah. You only want one national agent, but I didn't know that. Just like I got a TLM 103 as my first microphone, leave me alone. So you learn as you go. And I've I've been able to manage those relationships. I have really great relationships with them. I'm very transparent, very respectful, very honest, and I always try to work with integrity. It's definitely helped me, but it has caused some unnecessary, you know, stress. So if I have any recommendation as far as representation that that is, that is one of them.
Stephanie Roberts 55:27
Well, this has been such an amazing chat. Is there anything else that you think I missed, or any other question, or any other piece of advice that you want to offer to as someone who has reached this incredible six figure milestone?
Milena 55:40
Oh, thank you so much. I don't know, honestly, even being asked to come on here, I still have my own thing inside where I'm like, Am I qualified to give advice? I still kind of just think of myself as, like, this little business, just kind of trying to make it. But my my advice would be, if you're just starting out, for those who are wanting to get into the world of voice over, don't do what I did.
Milena 56:09
Start with coaching. Get yourself a really good coach. Do research too, because there are so many coaches out there. There's so many incredible coaches. I mean, you've got so many wonderful options, but just somebody who's who's really known in the industry and does a really great job. Get some coaching before you go out and buy $1,000 microphones. You don't have to. You could start with, like, a $300 or $400 mic and be great, as long as you have a great room with With good treatment. You could start off with with a decent mic and be okay and reach out and get into this community I have never in my life been involved in all the jobs I've had, in a community, in an industry where everyone really cheers each other on, yeah, and everyone really cares about each other, and it doesn't feel and you coming from theater, you might be able to tell me this, because I just did commercial acting, so mine was a little different, But I noticed that when I would go on camera auditions, and you'd be in a room from full of other people, sometimes there was some animosity. Sometimes there was some like, Hmm, I'm gonna size you up and down.
Milena 57:10
And in VO, I've I've friends and I have auditioned for things, and my girlfriend has gotten the role, or I've gotten a role that they audition, and we call each other, we're like, oh my god, I heard you on, you know, whatever. I'm so excited you got it. So I didn't for so many years, I didn't have this community. So we are lonely, and it is feel, it does feel very isolating, but it doesn't have to. And the last thing I'll say is, for any voice actors that are in the Central Florida area, I have started a community here called the Central Florida vo exchange. We're a group of voice over pros. We don't have any newbies in our group at the moment, only anybody who's working part time or full time, because the goal is for us to share information, refer each other and get together for happy hours and the fun stuff, right? I love it, so please reach out and yeah, I think that's that's all I have.
Stephanie Roberts 58:01
That's amazing. Well, thank you again. This was a great chat.
Milena 58:04
Thank you so much. Stephanie.
Stephanie Roberts 58:10
Milena's energy is so infectious. I love talking to her about balancing career with family and how she values and prioritizes self care, which makes her a better, more focused voice actor in the booth. If you'd like to learn more about Milena, I'm linking her website and socials in the show notes, which you can find at my website, making it to the mic.com. Please make sure you follow or subscribe, and if you're enjoying the podcast, please leave a review at Apple podcast so I can reach more people. Thanks so much for listening and tune in next week for the season four finale.