My Journey Into Voice Acting

 

I frequently get asked how I got into the Voiceover Industry. I don’t get enough pockets of time to speak to every person who asks one a 1:1 basis. So hopefully this post I’ve created, detailing my voiceover journey from Milan to Minsk (can any Seinfeld fans out there...anymore? lol), will be empowering, entertaining and enlightening to you. I hope you find some insights from my experiences for your own Voiceover pursuits.

At the end, I’ve provided some resources that I hope will help you, as well.

Many people are familiar with the voiceover they hear in cartoons and commercials and subway trains and think how cool it would be to be able to “talk” for a living! Nevermind that speakers, teachers, and almost every other professional “talk” for a living all the time. But… being hired specifically for YOUR voice? Now, that’s sexy.

 

The Early Years - Choices, choices

 

Growing up a little Puerto Rican girl in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Pennsylvania, I had no idea what possibilities were out there for me when I “grew up”. The only role models I truly looked up to in my life were my mom and dad. When faced with the decision to choose a college and a major at seventeen (17) years young, I felt that I only had two options - be a teacher like mom or an engineer like dad.

I went to Penn State University and got my Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering because I wanted to make 👏 that 👏 engineering 👏money!!!

That, and three other major reasons:

1) I thought it was cool you could blow things up with something invisible

2) It was the major with the least amount of chemistry (I hated chemistry).

3) I figured I’d be successful at it because I was, after all, my father’s daughter.

That was the extent of the sophistication of my choice. But, it was excruciatingly difficult. I was good at art. I was good at playing the piano. I was good at making funny voices. I was good at mimicking people. I was not good at math. But, I made it happen because I desperately wanted to move out of my parents’ home, make lots of money and travel the world on bold, new adventures. So, I followed the profession of my father and found myself in a male-dominated, left-brained, workaholic industry for most of my life.

 

“Piling it higher and deeper”

I don’t know if you’ve heard the joke about college degrees, where “B.S.”, “M.S.” and “PhD” stand for Bull 💩, More 💩, and “Pile it Higher and Deeper (PhD)”. In my 20’s and 30’s I focused on strengthening my education and building my resume. I added to my education with two more degrees (an M.B.A. and a Master’s Certificate in Project Management), and embarked on checking off my “bucket list” items.

Bounding from one job to another in pursuit of more responsibility and higher salaries, I supervised the construction of roads, airports, wastewater treatment systems, park and rides, and retail stores all over the country. I designed countless West Elm, Cabela’s and Nordstrom Rack stores. I crawled around the baggage carousel’s at JFK Airport, inspecting the fire alarm system. I wired up Revlon HQ in the penthouse of the One New York Plaza building at the tip of Manhattan Island. I project managed a Wind Farm energy storage facility in Hawaii. I held great jobs at great companies. And in between having to quit those jobs to do what I really LOVED to do - travel.

I jetsetted all over the western hemisphere by myself, living all over the U.S. of A and traveling all over North America and Europe. It was VERY satisfying. I felt accomplished. I embarked on a solo trek through the Western Hemisphere - from Dogsledding in Nome, Alaska, to climbing the pyramids of Mexico, to touring the Kremlin at Christmastime. I romanced myself in Spain, visiting the beautiful Gaudi structures and breathtaking museums and taking all the city bus tours. I spent a month in London with my sister seeing the sights. I ate Haggis, Neeps and Tatties in Scotland. In the wildly eligible (and VERY unlucky in love) bachelorette chapter of my life, I did super cool things like swimming with dolphins, indoor skydiving in vegas and filling up a steamy diary full of ridiculous and noteworthy dating escapades.

 

Making Jokes with The Truth

I had only voiced my desire to be a voice actor as a JOKE to a friend while I was living in Seattle in the 1990’s. But, close friends and family members have told me that it’s something I said I’d wanted to do my whole life. I don’t remember that? But, that’s what they said. They also said I was pretty good at it. I was never told that my voice was anything special. No one told me I had a voice for radio, the movies, or sounded like Morgan Freeman (thank goodness!) or Sigourney Weaver. But, I could impersonate characters like no one’s business and I did have that SASS and SPUNK to bring an effervescent life to situations and stories. And I did a HELL of a good Bart Simpson at the time. I watched Pixar’s movie “A Bug’s Life” in 1998 and I JUST KNEW. If there was any “impossible” dream that would be worth my pursuit - it would be voiceover.

So, in 1999, I took a tiny step and enrolled in a voiceover class on the weekends. I attended my first class with Nigel Neale at the University of Washington in Seattle. It was a small class. He give us some commercial and animated scripts, and explained how to ~read~ them. I 👏 WAS 👏 HOOKED.

I still didn’t do anything with it because I didn’t know how to make viable money doing voiceover for a living. I stuffed my desire back into my “backpack of dreams”, and determined to move on. I was a trained engineer, dammit.

 

Where Focus Goes, Energy Flows

 

And where energy flows, whatever you're focusing on grows. I rounded out a decade in Seattle almost to the month, and then, I moved to Austin, TX. I was ready for a BIG change. I reinvented myself yet again, and found a project manager job in the renewable energy sector and ended up dating this awesome guy named Jason (who is now my husband).

A couple years later, we moved to New York City in 2012. I fumbled around for a year terrified of the city. And then in 2013, I started working as an Electrical Estimator for an Electrical Contractor in NYC. Then I quit and took a job for more money as a Supervising Inspector for the Resident Engineer’s Office at JFK International Airport. Then I quit and took a job for even more money as an Electrical Design Engineer at an MEP firm in Manhattan, NYC.

During that time, in 2014, I saw a flyer in our neighborhood of Astoria, announcing a That’s Voiceover event at the Museum of the Moving Image just a few blocks from my house. I thought about it again, and decided, I really needed to get more deeply involved in the voiceover community. I even entered the Travel Channel competition for an audition to be a guest travel channel host. I felt I was PERFECT for that job (see travel experience above). I didn’t win.

BUT… In 2014, I watched James Earl Jones receive a Voice Icon Award IN PERSON, I got to meet legendary voiceover talent like Debbe Hirata, Joan Baker, Rudy Gaskins, Pat Fraley, and Fabian Toro. And, I GENUINELY felt accepted into this “new-to-me” industry that felt like it fit me like a glove. More about that event here https://www.voiceoverxtra.com/article.htm?id=B6CKO7WV 

 

 

This time around, I was inspired to create my first COMMERCIAL DEMO. I had a friend, Jen Tullock (now, of Severence fame), who is a brilliant actor and at the time, was also doing voiceover. She set me up in her Brooklyn closet with a microphone, some commercial scripts and a healthy dose of direction and courage, and produced my very first commercial demo. I 👏 WAS 👏 ELATED!  #FirstCommercialDemoAchieved 

However, still NOT KNOWING how I could make bill-paying money in voiceover, I stuffed my desire back into my “backpack of dreams”, and determined to move on. I was a trained engineer, dammit.

As a side note, in 2014, I also auditioned for a small show you may not know... the game show Who Want’s to be a Millionaire! You can find the video here and a play-by-play transcript here https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Melissa_Del_Toro

 

Manifesting through the Ordinary Ho-Hum

 

In the meantime, every weekend for 3 years while I had a “day job”, I volunteered my voice for numerous educational materials the Learning Ally in NYC - recording audiobooks for Blind and Dyslexic students and learning public speaking skills by attending a Toastmaster’s Club called the Pacers in Manhattan every Wednesday, rain or shine.

Seeing this, my husband gifted me my first voice acting equipment setup - a Rode NT1-A (which I use to this day!), a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 digital interface and a brand new, 2015 MacBook Air utilizing GarageBand. With lots of faith, hope and love, together we built my first Home Recording Studio in a BIG CLOSET in my Astoria apartment. It wasn’t perfect, and I didn’t even USE IT (procrastination anyone?). But, it was quiet, brilliantly built, and it was MINE. #AchievementUnlocked

Still NOT KNOWING how I could make bill-paying money in voiceover, I stuffed my desire back into my “backpack of dreams”, while other dreams began to manifest. We moved to a new apartment, I married Jason, I quit my stressful engineering job in Manhattan and started my own business working as a virtual project manager for online business owners. It was PERFECT and when I got pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl - she became my sole focus for our last year living in New York City. She was my sun, moon and stars. But, the shine of my new business began to fade.

 

Heartbreak and Clarity 

We ended up moving to Arizona in 2018 to tend to my father, who was very ill with Parkinson’s. We didn’t know he would pass away a short 9 months later. (I PROMISE this pertains to my Voice Acting Journey). It was all very sad but very perfect, since dad got to know my daughter and watch Moana 50 times with her before he passed away. While my personal life was blessed and satisfying, my project management business was struggling. My daughter was a toddler and it was challenging to maintain my project manager availability with my new mother responsibilities. I lost my biggest client and 100% of my income. I was lost. I was ashamed. I was sad. And I was exhausted. I realized I was building a business that looked just like the jobs that I held for so many years BUT NOW, I wasn’t even making any money, to boot!

That’s when it hit me. WHEN would it be my time? WHEN was the right time to pursue my dream SERIOUSLY? I was literally at the end of clarity for my career when I realized it was right before my eyes. If I’m not going to make any money building something that I’m NOT excited about, why not building something that doesn’t make any money that I AM excited about! Enter Voiceover. 

What I discovered in hindsight was that I’ve been acting and unintentionally doing voiceovers all my life. When I was playing Barbies, I’d give each doll a specific voice, personality, point-of-view, and role in the community. When I was telling stories to my friends and family about situations in my life, I’d imitate interesting voices or seek to sound just like them. I’d try to master every cartoon voice I heard like Ren & Stimpy, Bart Simpson (long live the Queen Nancy Cartwright!), Beavis and Butthead and so many other beloved characters. (can you tell I grew up in the ’80’s-’90’s?). Not only did I act in my personal life, I acted in my professional life. I played my greatest roles as engineers and project managers, successfully building and managing hundreds of six and seven-figure projects over the course of my career.

 

Hard Work, Business Building Zone Ahead

My entry into voiceover as my main business was as an audiobook narrator and editor on ACX and Audible in 2019. My first VO paid project was an audiobook called “Astrid’s Survivor Journey”. Shortly thereafter, was hired to edit a 12 hour audiobook with 2023 SOVAS Voice Arts award winning narrator, Daniel Eric Penz. https://www.audible.com/ep/ACX It’s not the same platform anymore as when I started several years ago … the audiobook-scape has changed quite a bit. But, what hasn’t changed is that I’ve been nurturing my relationship with indie, self-published authors and editing/mastering audiobooks for other narrators to get them upload ready for any online, audiobook platform since the beginning. Audiobooks is a booming industry, but we Voice Actors are also constantly being challenged by client budget constraints and the continual improvement of A.I. voice banks.

All of the things that apply to every entrepreneur, apply to my work as a freelance Voice Actor. Building my website, keeping a social media presence, growing an audience, direct marketing to video producers, business owners, animators, other narrators and professionals within my network to find work, accounting, financing, invoicing, keeping up with subscriptions and professional memberships, etc. etc. are standard work day activities.

In the beginning, I set up profiles and accounts and loaded up my demos on major pay-to-plays like Voices123, Voices dot com and Mandy, but I never pursued work on there. I also never went the Fiver or Upwork route, mostly because the ROI of the time I spent on those sites just never made as much business sense as networking virtually and in-person at events with my ideal clients.

Since I am an excellent engineer and very technically minded, I began to EDIT audiobooks for other narrators. I got ALL of the experience I needed to add massive value to my own voiceover operation. It turns out that this “voiceover adjacent” kind of work was a model on which I ~could~ build a profitable voiceover business from home.

The kinds of work have become diverse with each year spent working in and on my business. My revenue is built from a combination of different genres of voiceover and voiceover adjacent work - audiobook editing, audiobook narration, regional and national commercials in both English and Spanish, corporate and explainer videos, animated videos and animated character voice work, script writing for a children’s podcast, Voice of God announcements for virtual events, ADR for foreign videos into the English language and the list is growing. My ultimate goal is to voice cartoons for major networks and brands such as Pixar, Disney XD, Cartoon Network, and PBS. We all have to start somewhere, right?

 

Formal Training and Experience (A.K.A. Getting Rich Quick - NOT!)

In 2019, my first year full-time in voiceover, I attended the SOVAS conference in person in Burbank, CA and I finally felt I’d “come home”. I was coached live on stage on an Audiobook Read by 3 industry pros - Jeffrey Kafer, PJ Ochlan, Adenrele Ojo, and 600+ guests to the conference.

That year, I made around $1,000 in voiceover projects. And just like any entrepreneurial start-up business, my client base began to grow. With daily dedication and consistent relationship building and content creation, I’ve doubled every year since then. I’m still not dripping cash like the Kardashians, but my business is growing because of the daily hard work I put into it. Don’t get me wrong. I am still figuring things out (those damned algorithms!!). But, I see progress. In 2019, I recorded my very first professional demo, remotely. 

In 2020, as the world shut down, my business was poised to grow. I had laid a solid foundation of relationships, technical know-how, and voice acting training with well known, top notch industry coached; and my home recording studio was fully outfitted and broadcast quality. I had Source Connect Standard, audio engineering sign off on my booth’s sound quality by Frank Verderosa, and a killer Uncle Roy Yokelson approved audio mastering stack. I attended the 2020 SOVAS That’s Voiceover conference virtually and participated in the very prestigious, by audition only, selected participant events the CBS Audition Spotlight and the Speed Dating your Demo event. I made many connections, including several agents and casting directors with which I continue to work today. I co-founded my original short story, science fiction podcast with a local Arizona writer. I made $4,000 in my second year in voiceover. That’s 4x the year before with dedicated and steady outreach efforts.

In 2021, I took a 💩  ton of voiceover coaching group and 1:1 classes. I even got to ask my IDOL Miss Tara Strong (the voice of Bubbles on the PowerPuff Girls, Twilight Sparkle of My Little Pony, Raven of Teen Titans GO, and Timmy Turner of The Fairly OddParents) a question in Steve Blum’s Blumvox virtual class environment. I updated my commercial demo with the illustrious Mick Wingert directing and Chad Erikson of “I Need A Demo” producing and again attended the SOVAS That’s Voiceover conference virtually. With my updated, kick ass demo, I was again chosen to participate in the very prestigious, by audition only, selected participant Speed Dating your Demo event. I made many connections, including several agents and casting directors and got on several more voiceover casting agency rosters. My audiobook editing business doubled and my cartoon world connections grew. Again, I a little more than doubled my income in year 3, coming in at around $9,000 from voiceover projects.

 

 

2022 was when I started voicing characters for the popular children’s podcast “Who Smarted”. I attended the eVocation Conference Virtually on a Scholarship from Robert Sciglimpaglia and learned even more information to propel my career forward. I learned the in’s and out’s of the metrics of my website performance and all kinds of “business of voiceover” information that was invaluable to the growth of my business and my growth as a professional. I coached a lot with Tom Antonellis on accents and dialects for the best selling 11-hour science fiction trilogy audiobook, Relics of Dawn, by A. W. Davidson that contained over 60+ different voices of all ages, varied dialects and vocal styles. I became an Audio Describer through the awesome training of Joel Snyder and honed my craft with Sophia Cruz. Again, I doubled my income and reached the $20,000 mark in voiceover income.

In 2023, I became a Live Remote Dubber through Fannie and Max Rabault’s company, 7 Holdings Media. I was able to attend the SOVAS That’s Voiceover conference in person again! And again, I was invited to participate in the Speed Dating your Demo event. Our science fiction short story podcast won the Creator Award with the Arizona State University’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute. I booked several local and national commercials, and made further investments into my studio to upgrade my equipment. I did not double my income but increased my earnings by another $5,000 while maintaining my existing client base and acquiring a couple of new narrators and awesome new projects from the previous year, which I consider a huge success! Happy Clients, Great Work, Flexible Schedule, Happy Mama.

2024 - This is the year for Animation. The things that got the original wheels spinning. While I continue to serve my existing client base and my podcast, I am reaching for my original goal of being a cartoon!!! This year started out great by becoming a member of a collective called DocsAnimation in Phoenix, AZ. I narrated and produced an 8 hour historical science fiction, time travel adventure by Howard Loring called PIERCING the ELASTIC LIMIT, to be released in all audiobook platforms on my birthday. I am currently non-union but would entertain going union or fi-core for the right opportunities. Right now, most of what I work on is non-union. But, I support the union. #sagaftrastrong

 

A career in Voiceover is a long-game and it is strategic. It isn’t a “get-rich-quick” kind of job and perhaps not even a “get rich period” kind of job. And, it is definitely voice ACTING (with acting skills being the defining mark of a successful service). I was NOT an actor when I started in Voiceover. So, I needed to coach and train with some of the best instructors in the industry.

 

They include:

Roger Becker (commercial)

Tina Morasco (commercial)

Anna Garduno (Commercial)

Kelly McGee (Commercial)

Paul Liberti (Animation / Character)

Debi Derryberry (Animation / Character)

Dave Fennoy and Jenn Henry (Video Game)

Brent Alan Hagel (trailers/promo)

Joan Baker (Voice of God)

Scott Parkin (Improv)

Fannie Brett-Rabault and Max Rabault (Live Action Dubbing)

Joel Snyder and Sophia Cruz (Audio Description)

So, coaching and training, a great studio setup, and professional treatment in your booth are NON-NEGOTIABLES. If you are curious the money that people are making in voiceover, you can refer to the Voiceover survey conducted by NAVA and learn about the earning statistics within the Voiceover industry. It varies greatly between individuals with different backgrounds, friend circles, acting experience, voiceover training level, equipment and studio setup and proximity to in-person recording studios.  https://navavoices.org/voiceover-survey/

During COVID in 2020, many professional actors as well as people all around the country, built broadcast quality home studios with top-of-the-line-equipment.  Many people poured themselves into social media in hopes of becoming more visible and growing their audiences. I’m no exception. I made my second demo (first professional demo) right before we went into lockdown. #SecondCommercialDemoAchieved 

And now, many casting directors and talent agencies reach out to talent in tiny pockets of our country and have more options than just the talent in the few large cities - Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and Austin, to name a few. So, while things have gotten very competitive - the hunger for content has grown exponentially. Enter A.I. and text-to-speech. Machine learning and voice banks. Now, people have many price points from which to choose their voiceover ”talent”. There’s so much to continue learning about this business of Voiceover and Voice Acting.

Being strategic and understanding who we are, our unique selling points as Human Voice Actors, how we can use A.I. to our advantage in our businesses and where we can best serve has become more important than ever. For me, I collaborated with a local self-published author to create an original, short story, sci-fi podcast called Untold Tales that gives a platform for modern day and new authors to publish their short stories in audio format and grow a following along with growing our listener community of people who love original, short stories narrators audiobook style. Untold Tales is now in ~60 countries worldwide with over 15k downloads (Q1 2024). A really, really great article on niching out your voiceover business can be found at Gravy for the Brain out of the U.K. here: https://www.gravyforthebrain.com/what-voice-acting/#:~:text=It%20is%20commonly%20believed%20that,Reginald%20Fessenden%2C%20a%20Canadian%20inventor.

That said, I’ve worn a lot of hats since starting my own business in 2015. Online project manager, Internationally best selling author, Accountability Coach, vision board facilitator, Mom after 40, Podcast producer and narrator, coloring book publisher and national game show contestant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUtU2JBCJms … but my heart and my dreams skew towards performing animated characters as a Voice Actor!

 

Resources You Can Use

 

I gave you a lot of great resources to research above, and I’ll give you some more here. But, the point is, every person’s journey is different. We each bring something different to the table, from beginning to end. The important thing is to know yourself and what you want out of the journey. And then start crafting your career to meander in that direction. There’s no wrong place to start. There’s no wrong training to begin. You’ll learn for yourself as you get into Voice Actor circles what trainings were good, and which were a waste of money for you. You’ll have your own Lessons Learned document (I’m forever a Project Manager).

The Narrator’s Roadmap is a GREAT resource, if you are interested in Audiobooks. Behind the paywall, there is even an exhaustive list of Audiobook Conferences you can attend like PANA https://pronarrators.org/ and APAC https://www.audiopub.org/apa-conference all around the world. https://www.narratorsroadmap.com/

Attending conference is a GREAT strategy for learning about and growing your business. For me, the That’s Voiceover Conferences in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023 were life changing. In 2019, I had the opportunity to read and get LIVE COACHING in front of an audience of over 600 people at the That’s Voiceover Career Expo in Burbank, California. I also participated in the "That’s Voiceover Career Expo Audition Spotlight.” in 2020, where I was one of the Top 40 called back out of 462 submissions and the Speed Dating Your Demo with producers event at the virtual That’s Voiceover Conference 2020, 2021, and the in-person 2023 conference where I was one of 30 participants chosen to participate with producers at the That’s Voiceover Conference. I currently work with and submit auditions to many of these agencies/casting directors!!  https://www.sovas.org/

You can also find out about a couple of other major conferences that you can attend to learn more about the industry and the craft and network with peers:

https://voiceoverresourceguide.com/conferences-and-events/

And if you want more blow-by-blow, play-by-play info about becoming a Voice Actor, you can visit https://iwanttobeavoiceactor.com/ by Dee Bradley Baker, a defining voice in the industry.

If you want EVEN MORE info and you want to stay in touch with me on my email list, I’ve created a FREE resource outlining my 5 Best Tips for getting into the Voiceover Industry in the current business landscape, as well as a guide of 20 vetted resources you can trust from my personal experience. https://www.melissadeltoro.com/Beginner_VO_Advice

 

Podcast Appearances

  

If you are podcast person, like me, and you enjoy senseless banter (lol), you may like to tune in to one of the many interviews I’ve done on various podcasts about my career transition, hurdles and challenges, and encouragements to various audiences. You can find all of these in my blog, too, in audio and sometimes video format, too. In case you are SUPER bored and want to crawl further down rabbit holes. :)

 

Interviews and Media Appearances

1.  Social Media Traffic School - Sally Hendricks Article/Podcast Interview https://www.socialmediatrafficschool.com/blog/featured-fan-melissa-del-toro
   
2.  Global Nomad Hacks with Dr. Heidi Forbes Öste 11/6/2020 Episode 35 - Society & Culture > Places & Travel
   
3.  The Productive Podcaster with Barrett Matthews 12/14/2020 - Business
   
4.  The People’s Podcast with Paul Vibes 12/16/2020  https://youtu.be/uJXN7UBLtgk 
   
5.  Victoria Weick Podcast Episode 35 December 14, 2020 - Business > Entrepreneurship 
   
6.  Empowered Worth with Victoria Lowell  - Episode 32 January 13, 2021 Society & Culture > Places & Travel
   
7.  NOT RELEASED Souls Outside with Shannon Pole (being released in Nov Thanksgiving)
   
8.  Mom Owned and Operated with Rita Suzanne Episode 3 May 13, 20201 - Business > Entrepreneurship  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1767739/8510692
   
9.  Unstuck podcast with Celestina (Cel - Chell) Brunetti and Josh Bien (recording 4/11/21, released 5/19/2021) https://www.unstuck.institute/podcast/episode/98a9f307/140-voice-acting-w-melissa-del-toro-schaffner 
   
10.  Phoenix Business RadioX: Karen Nowicki - Phoenix Business Radio Featured Guest Appearance (record 6/29/2021) https://businessradiox.com/podcast/phoenixbusinessradio/voice-actor-melissa-del-toro-schaffner-and-charlotte-bowens-with-conscious-gear/ 
    
11.  Smart People with Rob Oliver (found me on the Perfect Podcast Guest list, Steve Olsher) https://anchor.fm/learningfromsmartpeople/episodes/130-Melissa-Del-Toro-Schaffner-How-to-Empower-Young-People-to-Pursue-Their-Dreams-e143s7o 
    
12.  Tannia E. Ortiz-Lopes (her website) lead from LinkedIn
    
13.  Pacifico Soldati - Law, The Universe, And Everything! (September 13, 2021)
    
14.  Kult Kreator with Matt Cheney U.K. (Recorded 3/4/2022)
    
15.  The Coqui Chef with Tania Lopez and Miguel (4/3/2022) https://www.coquithechef.com/podcasts/our-voice-is-who-we-are 
    
16.  Rob Oliver’s Guinness Book of World records May 2022
    
17.  Podfest Guinness Book of World Records - 2021 and 2022 https://podfestexpo.com/guinness/#:~:text=Podfest%20Global%20Summit%20has%20held,second%20title%20for%20this%20category!&text=Over%205%2C000%20people%20took%20part%20in%20this%20incredible%20event  and https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/619872-largest-attendance-for-a-virtual-podcasting-conference-in-one-week 
    
18.  Maroon Oak Blog https://www.maroonoak.com/top-examples-of-linkedin-headlines-for-entrepreneurs-and-how-to-write-yours/ 
    
19.  Project Positive Change Changemaker! https://projectpositivechange.com/changemaker/melissa-del-toro-schaffner/
    
20.  Being Inspired Podcast with Amanda Johnson https://shows.acast.com/beinginspired/episodes/ep-107
    

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/being-inspired-radio-show/e/63416378

1.  MillionCups Phoenix https://www.1millioncups.com/phoenix-westvalley/presentations/melissa-del-toro-international-25897
   
2.  Offbeat Bride https://offbeatbride.com/phoenix-budget-wedding/
   
3.  Millionaire Fandom https://millionaire.fandom.com/wiki/Melissa_Del_Toro
   
4.    LeadUp for Women 5/28/20 Colleen Biggs https://www.leadupforwomen.com/blog/thrive-thursday-meet-melissa-del-toro-voiceover-artist-accountability-coach-and-a-mom
   
5.  P.O.W.E.R. Magazine Feature Article https://www.leadupforwomen.com/blog/thrive-thursday-meet-melissa-del-toro-voiceover-artist-accountability-coach-and-a-mom
   
6.  City of Peoria Everyday Entreprenuers Interview https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2949442485374911
   

 

My Studio

In case you are curious, my current professionally outfitted recording studio as of 2023 consists of:

• 360° studio coverage professional-grade sound absorption by VocalBoothsToGo 
• Sennheiser MKH-416-P48 Shotgun Microphone with foam windscreen
• NT1-A Rode Mic  with pop filter
• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Interface
• Neumann NDH 20 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones and Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones
• Source Connect, Zoom, Skype ready
• Thunderbolt Internet Connection
• Dropbox and WeTransfer 

I hope this post was helpful in your Journey and that is shed some light on how I got into Voice Acting and what the road looks like as I travel it. Your journey will be unique, as well. I wish you the very best! Break a lip!

  

Melissa Del Toro Schaffner is an American Voice Actor and co-creator/producer/narrator of The Untold Tales Podcast - a short story sci-fi audio drama. In addition to being in the Mom after 40 club, she wears multiple hats including international best selling author, accomplished Accountability Coach, and creator/ illustrator of the Minority Girl Empowerment Coloring Book “Careers for Little Sisters” (available in English and Spanish). Melissa was also a contestant on the nationally televised game show “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire” and was an Electrical Engineer and a Project Manager before she took the big leap into her dream of business ownership. Her current mission is to inspire one million women to live the life of their dreams.