VC Radio
Voice Coaches Radio #571 – Mickenzie is Ready to Put In the Work!
Voice coaches, radio, everything voiceover, welcome to a brand new episode of voice coaches, radio. My name is Marissa. And, uh, here we are yet again, bringing you someone very special, former student, Mackenzie Hawn. I'm going to go. Am I saying your last name? Right? Yes, you are. Yeah. Um, and I'm going to wish you a happy belated birthday.
Thank you. Last time we were scheduled to hang out a couple weeks ago, and then it was like all hell broke loose the morning of. And I felt bad because like Katie had reached out. Katie is, you know, the girl that helps schedule everybody for classes. And she's always at the front desk answering questions and stuff.
And she called me and she's like, Oh my God, she sounds awful. You're feeling better now. Very much. Yes. Thank you so much, Marissa. I'm happy to be here. Happy to have a clear voice. I really wanted my first time on the podcast, I wanted to express my clear, lovely sounding voice rather than like this congested sickness.
So I'm happy to reschedule. Yeah. Yeah. Um, now you, you are, um, a former voice coaches. Students and I don't think did our paths cross or did you work with Tom? Like, tell me, tell me some things here. How did, how did this all work with you? Um, well, how did I start? Yeah. I mean, give us right from the beginning.
How did you, how did you even want to start doing this? Like, what was so enticing about voiceover that you're like, I must. Um, it, it's all happened chance. I, uh, this is back back June, 2022. So it's very fresh, not even a year ago. Um, I was thinking and praying through moving from Boise, Idaho to Nashville, Tennessee, and I was Googling, I'm a musician.
I'm I love to sing. And I was Googling knowing like. There have, there has to be other forms of making income with my voice. So I was Googling, how do I make money with my voice? Well, of course, Instagram picked up my recent Google searches and across the algorithm, your guys's. Advertisement popped up on my feed and I'm like, voice coaches.
Oh, you guys have a webinar next Thursday, half off. Like, absolutely. Why not? So I joined, I met John. I met, um, Oh, I met, I met nearly the whole team. And I was just, it was a completely electric idea of voice acting. So, um, Danette asked me, she's like, so how long have you been wanting to be in the industry?
I'm like, Oh, like. 24 hours ago. I didn't know you guys existed. I didn't know the industry existed and I'm blown away at how lucrative and wonderful and full it is. Um, so I went through the whole, uh, the vocal, um, training and, and seeing if my voice is a fit to even learn about the industry and, um, be a voice actor.
And then I got coach Tom Robinson, love him so much. And I really just fit into. My, my skill set, my personality, and then I trained from July to October and then I hopped on a plane on October 5th and I moved to Nashville like it's just, it's like, you know, some people get there, they're scared to, to get outside the comfort zone, right?
Like we get comfortable in life. We get comfortable in. Where we're living and what we're doing and, um, you know, we have dreams and aspirations, but we said, Oh, we'll do it tomorrow. You know, I'll do it tomorrow. And, and you're not pushing anything off until tomorrow. You just, you're like, wait, I saw this and 24 hours later, I'm doing it.
And then four months later, I'm, you know, hopping on a plane. And so, so now you're in Nashville. Yes, ma'am. And tell me how are things because I've heard some rumblings that are you already like diving on into the voiceover world and then getting some work under your belt and everything. No, no work, no work yet.
Okay. Um, but I've been booking myself with networking and I really took your, your guys's training to heart. Um, you advised me to check out my city's chamber of commerce. I'm like, okay, cool. Well, my city's brand new, so I might as well learn about Nashville. And, uh, the national chamber of commerce has this really neat event called intro national.
It's a three day, really intensive, um, conference where you get to learn the multifacets, um, the fully faceted city of Nashville. So it's not just music. It's not just sports. It's also really high cuisine. And, you know, people coming here from all over the world and like, what. Makes Nashville attractive. So I went to that and, um, and I'm, I'll tell you right now I've been to Nashville like so many times.
I've got some friends that live there. The first time I went, if you, I mean, I'm sure you've experienced this already, but if you go down to the, you know, Broadway. Count the bachelorette parties you see. Count them. People are coming in from all over the place, and I've never thought, like, Nashville's the destination for a bachelorette party.
You always think of Vegas, right? But, hey, they do call it Nash Vegas, uh, these days. Yes, they do. For a very big reason. I mean, it was like, 40 something bachelorette parties in a matter of an hour and a half. Like it was amazing. Um, so yeah, when you say like, it's not just music, it's not just sports, it's not just it, like it really is.
It's like drawing all sorts of people and it's not just country music either. That's what a lot of exceptions. You know, it's just country music. There is a huge songwriting scene and it's for everything, everything. And it's music city. It's not just country music city. It's music city, capital of the nation.
Um, so I, yeah, I've just, I've had. Just the honor and the thrill of exploring my new home and also diving in networking. And I was actually talking to Katie kind of, I've, I just want to, I want to specifically on this podcast this morning is share how hard it's been. Um, like really, truly three days ago, I was just really down and out and just crying on the phone with my dad.
I'm like, dad, this is really hard. And he's like, Ken's I understand, but also good things take time. So I'm booking myself. I'm shaking hands. I'm networking. I'm, Setting at the meetings and I'm being pleasantly persistent and people recognize that. But in this city with this much talent, this much gifting, um, you, like, first of all, have to, I have to show up and then show up again to show that I'm serious and that I'm still here and then keep on.
Yeah, it's important. Um, so I'm sowing the seeds right now, Marissa. Well, and you know, I, I've stated this multiple times. I mean, you know, I, what, what you might not even realize about me is that like, you know, I've talked about this on the podcast. It's like going into. This pandemic going into lockdown. 15, 16 years of consistent work.
Now I've been navigating slightly differently because I've been doing a lot of radio the majority of my career. Um, but you know commercial work comes hand in hand and I've done whatever been thrown at me but 15, 16 years of consistent work and I was about to start a full time and two part time radio gigs and it all got taken away, and I ended up having to move from Boston back home.
Starting right back where I was originally in my parents house back in my childhood bedroom, um, you know, wondering how the heck I got back there. And, you know, me, like, I use this with students all the time as sort of like a motivation to not give up, to just do one more audition, one more email, because had I given up in a hasty moment of discouragement in the fall of 2020, The day that I interviewed with voice coaches, I also interviewed at a veterinary clinic to take pet appointments.
Seriously, like I almost left the industry because, you know, I was almost a year out of work and I was feeling very discouraged. I felt like it was all taken away and like, maybe the universe was like, Marissa, it's time. Like, just find something else, you know, but if I had done that. And, and I didn't follow up with voice coaches and didn't follow that path.
I mean, what would I be doing right now? I probably hating my life and sneezing every day because I'm allergic to pets, uh, but you know, it's like, like if I had made that hasty choice, I would have missed out on everything I'm doing now where it's like, my days are so busy with recording. It's nine different radio stations in eight States.
It's commercial work. When it's thrown at me, it's whatever gets thrown at me, I'll do it. You know, and, and it's still coaching these classes, not as much as I was, but, you know, it's, it's that, that was the beginning of the rebuild. Sometimes, you know, it's always important to realize, like, look at what's put in front of you and follow the path, even if it feels like, you know what, that's not necessarily what I wanted to do.
Yes. Yes. Because sometimes what's coming a little bit easier to you is coming a little easier because it's setting you up for what's. Next, what's to come now? My goal was not to be coaching voice acting classes, right? Like I have been doing the industry for at that point, 15 years, definitely. Um, but had I had I not done that, you know, it's like.
Who knows? That was the stepping stone to get to where my goal was. And it, it was a year and a half of building, you know, it was a year and a half, a little bit more than a year and a half of building. And sometimes it does take time. Your dad's right. A hundred percent. The good things are worth the wait.
Yeah. So, I know we have students that go through this program, and you know what they do, they skip class five, they skip the marketing of all of this, but what you've been talking about is all about the marketing and and how you've been embracing it so what else. What other steps are you taking right now that you feel have been extremely helpful.
Yeah. Man, as soon as my demo was released and it was, Hey, Mackenzie, we, you have a web page. Now I immediately created business cards off of moo. com and, um, and I'm, I happily have like a box of 500 that I always stack up my, my business, um, pocket whenever I go out, uh, to events and. That's the next thing.
So I've got my business cards to kind of show us that I'm legitimate. Um, and, and that I have a webpage to prove that, you know, should to share my demo and then I also just go out even if I don't feel like it. Like I, um, when I'm meeting with people, they say, oh, you're branding to, to Nashville. You need to go here, here, here, here, here.
And I'm like, okay. I can make three of those five so then I put them on my calendar and I make sure that I'm um, intentional with those events that that person specifically invited me to. So for example, um, I got, I got, I went to an Irish pub with a drummer and uh, he shared, he's like, Mackenzie, I see a lot of like Master of Ceremonies vibes with you.
Like you'd be a great MC. I'm like, well, I have experience in that world. So let's chat more about that. Um, and he's like, you need to come to the international live events association, happy hour, it's free. Come and we'll chat there. Well, it was, I was in a room with all event coordinators, like of, of Nashville.
And I'm. I'm shaking hands saying I'm a voice actor, but also Mike, Mike McKeesa said I would be a great emcee and I, I'm learning that. Okay. Side note, Marissa, Nashville, everyone wears multiple hats. You say Nashville in life, these days. 2023, you have to wear multiple hats. That's very, you know, like, because here's the thing, you know, I, I do radio.
I do commercials. I can do audio books. I can go ahead and do somebody's social media. I can head and I can obviously host a podcast. I can go ahead and on my side time, I'm doing eBay and I'm doing Poshmark and I can sell almost anything. I can go ahead and host any event that you want me to. Um, I have gone and I have been the person that's I'm using air quotes and nobody's gonna be able to see us.
Uh, but I've deejayed a wedding. I don't do that, but if you want me to, I will. I have a friend that's going to have me, um, do the, um, like the, the, the ceremony, uh, what does that call? Yes. I don't even know what that word is, but that's what I'm going to do. Um, you know, so it's like, if, if you, if you can use your voice and do it, do it.
You know, it's like, I mean, if, if, if you don't have those multiple facets, like you're almost in a bad position right now. Like you want to be able to use every skill set that you can, because it's just making you more marketable in so many ways. Um, you know, this is not a lifetime right now, I feel like, like our parents, it's like, or even our parents parents, it's like, they had one job, they stayed there their entire life, they had a retirement package from it, and that's it, you know.
These days, it's like you need to have multiple facets of income. Um, you know, and in voiceover, that, that's the best part about it, right? It's like, you can use your voice in so many different ways that it allows so many different streams of income if you really think outside the box with it. So this hosting thing is actually a really cool thing.
Yes, absolutely. Well, and I want to go back to, um, Boise. I was in that full time steady income 401k matching the health benefits, the big girl adulting past generation job. And I just sat there and I'm like, I, I think that I've reached the capacity of this job and I, I know that I meant for more and that was actually the catalyst of me going, I gotta, I gotta press in and, and step away in faith and know that like, I, I meant to, I meant to do something and I have no idea what it is and that's what voice acting is really ushered in.
So. Um, business cards, going to events, and then being open to people saying, I think that you would actually be really great at this and not saying no. My favorite phrase right now, Marissa, literally I used yesterday, I sat with a VP of marketing for a university and he said, Well, Mackenzie, what about audiobooks?
And I'm like, Dave, Sounds amazing. I, and, and I'm going to be honest, I don't know what I don't know yet that, that, that posture of like, I have my voice. I'm terrified and I'm excited all at the same time. And my goodness, if you have connections, like, let's chat about audio books and my goodness, he connected me with people who need audio recorded.
So, um, and then I also, Like My roommate had her stairs painted and the guy came in, the painter, he's like, Oh, voice acting. Well, I have grandkids who would love to learn about that. And I'm like, Mike or Brian, all these different people, Brian, I don't know how to teach it. He's like, well. You could talk about, like, character voices and, and, like, just, he spun off into a different path, so it's just being open and, uh, listening near to the possibilities of this, of this world.
Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. You don't know what you don't know, and the only way to learn anything is to do. So like, you're, you're definitely well on your way. Um, so, well, listen, I mean, the moment that you get a gig, the moment that you want to, you know, um, talk about like an experience in the studio or any of that, please, please do not even hesitate to hit me up and we'll get you back on the podcast, but I want people to be able to hear your demo.
Um, so what, what is the website? Do you have the address off the top of your head there? Yes. Yes, I do. Um, so it's my name and I'll say it and then I'll see. Spell it. Um, mackenzie hahn dot I can voice.com. And Mackenzie's with an i, so M-I-C-K-E-N-Z-I-E-H-A-A-N dot I can voice.com. Cool. And do you have any music that you have online too?
Like I mean No. No, not yet. Alright. Not. Look at that. All these things lined up for you, girl. I mean, I like you're in the best place for it to just so just don't give up. Okay. I mean, I know that it can feel tough. They say and I like and I don't want this to sound discouraging either but like Nashville's like a 10 year plan, you know, and, you know, there's a there's country singer Jimmy Allen recently talked about this last summer, because he was on one of the radio stations that I work with.
And he said, you know, somebody said to him, Well, what's your backup plan? And he's like, I don't have a backup plan. If I, if I go into this with the same mentality as. A doctor goes through college and it takes them how many years of schooling to get to where they need to be. That is what I'm going to do here with my music career.
And it did him just about 10 years to get to where he wanted to be. But now it's like, he's been on dancing with the stars and he's, you know, been, he hosted new year's the country new year's bash on TV like this past year. And he's been having hit after hit he's on tour with Carrie Underwood, like. Not a bad gig, right?
Like, you know, but you have to put the work in to get to where you want to be. And sometimes it does take a little bit longer than, uh, it does for somebody else, but you know, as long as you're putting the hustle in and you're loving what you're doing and then you're in the right place. All right. So keep doing it.
Keep plugging along. Um, and thank you so much for taking time this morning to be with us. And, uh, we'll have a brand new episode of voice coaches radio coming up next week. Stay safe, everybody.
Thank you. Last time we were scheduled to hang out a couple weeks ago, and then it was like all hell broke loose the morning of. And I felt bad because like Katie had reached out. Katie is, you know, the girl that helps schedule everybody for classes. And she's always at the front desk answering questions and stuff.
And she called me and she's like, Oh my God, she sounds awful. You're feeling better now. Very much. Yes. Thank you so much, Marissa. I'm happy to be here. Happy to have a clear voice. I really wanted my first time on the podcast, I wanted to express my clear, lovely sounding voice rather than like this congested sickness.
So I'm happy to reschedule. Yeah. Yeah. Um, now you, you are, um, a former voice coaches. Students and I don't think did our paths cross or did you work with Tom? Like, tell me, tell me some things here. How did, how did this all work with you? Um, well, how did I start? Yeah. I mean, give us right from the beginning.
How did you, how did you even want to start doing this? Like, what was so enticing about voiceover that you're like, I must. Um, it, it's all happened chance. I, uh, this is back back June, 2022. So it's very fresh, not even a year ago. Um, I was thinking and praying through moving from Boise, Idaho to Nashville, Tennessee, and I was Googling, I'm a musician.
I'm I love to sing. And I was Googling knowing like. There have, there has to be other forms of making income with my voice. So I was Googling, how do I make money with my voice? Well, of course, Instagram picked up my recent Google searches and across the algorithm, your guys's. Advertisement popped up on my feed and I'm like, voice coaches.
Oh, you guys have a webinar next Thursday, half off. Like, absolutely. Why not? So I joined, I met John. I met, um, Oh, I met, I met nearly the whole team. And I was just, it was a completely electric idea of voice acting. So, um, Danette asked me, she's like, so how long have you been wanting to be in the industry?
I'm like, Oh, like. 24 hours ago. I didn't know you guys existed. I didn't know the industry existed and I'm blown away at how lucrative and wonderful and full it is. Um, so I went through the whole, uh, the vocal, um, training and, and seeing if my voice is a fit to even learn about the industry and, um, be a voice actor.
And then I got coach Tom Robinson, love him so much. And I really just fit into. My, my skill set, my personality, and then I trained from July to October and then I hopped on a plane on October 5th and I moved to Nashville like it's just, it's like, you know, some people get there, they're scared to, to get outside the comfort zone, right?
Like we get comfortable in life. We get comfortable in. Where we're living and what we're doing and, um, you know, we have dreams and aspirations, but we said, Oh, we'll do it tomorrow. You know, I'll do it tomorrow. And, and you're not pushing anything off until tomorrow. You just, you're like, wait, I saw this and 24 hours later, I'm doing it.
And then four months later, I'm, you know, hopping on a plane. And so, so now you're in Nashville. Yes, ma'am. And tell me how are things because I've heard some rumblings that are you already like diving on into the voiceover world and then getting some work under your belt and everything. No, no work, no work yet.
Okay. Um, but I've been booking myself with networking and I really took your, your guys's training to heart. Um, you advised me to check out my city's chamber of commerce. I'm like, okay, cool. Well, my city's brand new, so I might as well learn about Nashville. And, uh, the national chamber of commerce has this really neat event called intro national.
It's a three day, really intensive, um, conference where you get to learn the multifacets, um, the fully faceted city of Nashville. So it's not just music. It's not just sports. It's also really high cuisine. And, you know, people coming here from all over the world and like, what. Makes Nashville attractive. So I went to that and, um, and I'm, I'll tell you right now I've been to Nashville like so many times.
I've got some friends that live there. The first time I went, if you, I mean, I'm sure you've experienced this already, but if you go down to the, you know, Broadway. Count the bachelorette parties you see. Count them. People are coming in from all over the place, and I've never thought, like, Nashville's the destination for a bachelorette party.
You always think of Vegas, right? But, hey, they do call it Nash Vegas, uh, these days. Yes, they do. For a very big reason. I mean, it was like, 40 something bachelorette parties in a matter of an hour and a half. Like it was amazing. Um, so yeah, when you say like, it's not just music, it's not just sports, it's not just it, like it really is.
It's like drawing all sorts of people and it's not just country music either. That's what a lot of exceptions. You know, it's just country music. There is a huge songwriting scene and it's for everything, everything. And it's music city. It's not just country music city. It's music city, capital of the nation.
Um, so I, yeah, I've just, I've had. Just the honor and the thrill of exploring my new home and also diving in networking. And I was actually talking to Katie kind of, I've, I just want to, I want to specifically on this podcast this morning is share how hard it's been. Um, like really, truly three days ago, I was just really down and out and just crying on the phone with my dad.
I'm like, dad, this is really hard. And he's like, Ken's I understand, but also good things take time. So I'm booking myself. I'm shaking hands. I'm networking. I'm, Setting at the meetings and I'm being pleasantly persistent and people recognize that. But in this city with this much talent, this much gifting, um, you, like, first of all, have to, I have to show up and then show up again to show that I'm serious and that I'm still here and then keep on.
Yeah, it's important. Um, so I'm sowing the seeds right now, Marissa. Well, and you know, I, I've stated this multiple times. I mean, you know, I, what, what you might not even realize about me is that like, you know, I've talked about this on the podcast. It's like going into. This pandemic going into lockdown. 15, 16 years of consistent work.
Now I've been navigating slightly differently because I've been doing a lot of radio the majority of my career. Um, but you know commercial work comes hand in hand and I've done whatever been thrown at me but 15, 16 years of consistent work and I was about to start a full time and two part time radio gigs and it all got taken away, and I ended up having to move from Boston back home.
Starting right back where I was originally in my parents house back in my childhood bedroom, um, you know, wondering how the heck I got back there. And, you know, me, like, I use this with students all the time as sort of like a motivation to not give up, to just do one more audition, one more email, because had I given up in a hasty moment of discouragement in the fall of 2020, The day that I interviewed with voice coaches, I also interviewed at a veterinary clinic to take pet appointments.
Seriously, like I almost left the industry because, you know, I was almost a year out of work and I was feeling very discouraged. I felt like it was all taken away and like, maybe the universe was like, Marissa, it's time. Like, just find something else, you know, but if I had done that. And, and I didn't follow up with voice coaches and didn't follow that path.
I mean, what would I be doing right now? I probably hating my life and sneezing every day because I'm allergic to pets, uh, but you know, it's like, like if I had made that hasty choice, I would have missed out on everything I'm doing now where it's like, my days are so busy with recording. It's nine different radio stations in eight States.
It's commercial work. When it's thrown at me, it's whatever gets thrown at me, I'll do it. You know, and, and it's still coaching these classes, not as much as I was, but, you know, it's, it's that, that was the beginning of the rebuild. Sometimes, you know, it's always important to realize, like, look at what's put in front of you and follow the path, even if it feels like, you know what, that's not necessarily what I wanted to do.
Yes. Yes. Because sometimes what's coming a little bit easier to you is coming a little easier because it's setting you up for what's. Next, what's to come now? My goal was not to be coaching voice acting classes, right? Like I have been doing the industry for at that point, 15 years, definitely. Um, but had I had I not done that, you know, it's like.
Who knows? That was the stepping stone to get to where my goal was. And it, it was a year and a half of building, you know, it was a year and a half, a little bit more than a year and a half of building. And sometimes it does take time. Your dad's right. A hundred percent. The good things are worth the wait.
Yeah. So, I know we have students that go through this program, and you know what they do, they skip class five, they skip the marketing of all of this, but what you've been talking about is all about the marketing and and how you've been embracing it so what else. What other steps are you taking right now that you feel have been extremely helpful.
Yeah. Man, as soon as my demo was released and it was, Hey, Mackenzie, we, you have a web page. Now I immediately created business cards off of moo. com and, um, and I'm, I happily have like a box of 500 that I always stack up my, my business, um, pocket whenever I go out, uh, to events and. That's the next thing.
So I've got my business cards to kind of show us that I'm legitimate. Um, and, and that I have a webpage to prove that, you know, should to share my demo and then I also just go out even if I don't feel like it. Like I, um, when I'm meeting with people, they say, oh, you're branding to, to Nashville. You need to go here, here, here, here, here.
And I'm like, okay. I can make three of those five so then I put them on my calendar and I make sure that I'm um, intentional with those events that that person specifically invited me to. So for example, um, I got, I got, I went to an Irish pub with a drummer and uh, he shared, he's like, Mackenzie, I see a lot of like Master of Ceremonies vibes with you.
Like you'd be a great MC. I'm like, well, I have experience in that world. So let's chat more about that. Um, and he's like, you need to come to the international live events association, happy hour, it's free. Come and we'll chat there. Well, it was, I was in a room with all event coordinators, like of, of Nashville.
And I'm. I'm shaking hands saying I'm a voice actor, but also Mike, Mike McKeesa said I would be a great emcee and I, I'm learning that. Okay. Side note, Marissa, Nashville, everyone wears multiple hats. You say Nashville in life, these days. 2023, you have to wear multiple hats. That's very, you know, like, because here's the thing, you know, I, I do radio.
I do commercials. I can do audio books. I can go ahead and do somebody's social media. I can head and I can obviously host a podcast. I can go ahead and on my side time, I'm doing eBay and I'm doing Poshmark and I can sell almost anything. I can go ahead and host any event that you want me to. Um, I have gone and I have been the person that's I'm using air quotes and nobody's gonna be able to see us.
Uh, but I've deejayed a wedding. I don't do that, but if you want me to, I will. I have a friend that's going to have me, um, do the, um, like the, the, the ceremony, uh, what does that call? Yes. I don't even know what that word is, but that's what I'm going to do. Um, you know, so it's like, if, if you, if you can use your voice and do it, do it.
You know, it's like, I mean, if, if, if you don't have those multiple facets, like you're almost in a bad position right now. Like you want to be able to use every skill set that you can, because it's just making you more marketable in so many ways. Um, you know, this is not a lifetime right now, I feel like, like our parents, it's like, or even our parents parents, it's like, they had one job, they stayed there their entire life, they had a retirement package from it, and that's it, you know.
These days, it's like you need to have multiple facets of income. Um, you know, and in voiceover, that, that's the best part about it, right? It's like, you can use your voice in so many different ways that it allows so many different streams of income if you really think outside the box with it. So this hosting thing is actually a really cool thing.
Yes, absolutely. Well, and I want to go back to, um, Boise. I was in that full time steady income 401k matching the health benefits, the big girl adulting past generation job. And I just sat there and I'm like, I, I think that I've reached the capacity of this job and I, I know that I meant for more and that was actually the catalyst of me going, I gotta, I gotta press in and, and step away in faith and know that like, I, I meant to, I meant to do something and I have no idea what it is and that's what voice acting is really ushered in.
So. Um, business cards, going to events, and then being open to people saying, I think that you would actually be really great at this and not saying no. My favorite phrase right now, Marissa, literally I used yesterday, I sat with a VP of marketing for a university and he said, Well, Mackenzie, what about audiobooks?
And I'm like, Dave, Sounds amazing. I, and, and I'm going to be honest, I don't know what I don't know yet that, that, that posture of like, I have my voice. I'm terrified and I'm excited all at the same time. And my goodness, if you have connections, like, let's chat about audio books and my goodness, he connected me with people who need audio recorded.
So, um, and then I also, Like My roommate had her stairs painted and the guy came in, the painter, he's like, Oh, voice acting. Well, I have grandkids who would love to learn about that. And I'm like, Mike or Brian, all these different people, Brian, I don't know how to teach it. He's like, well. You could talk about, like, character voices and, and, like, just, he spun off into a different path, so it's just being open and, uh, listening near to the possibilities of this, of this world.
Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. You don't know what you don't know, and the only way to learn anything is to do. So like, you're, you're definitely well on your way. Um, so, well, listen, I mean, the moment that you get a gig, the moment that you want to, you know, um, talk about like an experience in the studio or any of that, please, please do not even hesitate to hit me up and we'll get you back on the podcast, but I want people to be able to hear your demo.
Um, so what, what is the website? Do you have the address off the top of your head there? Yes. Yes, I do. Um, so it's my name and I'll say it and then I'll see. Spell it. Um, mackenzie hahn dot I can voice.com. And Mackenzie's with an i, so M-I-C-K-E-N-Z-I-E-H-A-A-N dot I can voice.com. Cool. And do you have any music that you have online too?
Like I mean No. No, not yet. Alright. Not. Look at that. All these things lined up for you, girl. I mean, I like you're in the best place for it to just so just don't give up. Okay. I mean, I know that it can feel tough. They say and I like and I don't want this to sound discouraging either but like Nashville's like a 10 year plan, you know, and, you know, there's a there's country singer Jimmy Allen recently talked about this last summer, because he was on one of the radio stations that I work with.
And he said, you know, somebody said to him, Well, what's your backup plan? And he's like, I don't have a backup plan. If I, if I go into this with the same mentality as. A doctor goes through college and it takes them how many years of schooling to get to where they need to be. That is what I'm going to do here with my music career.
And it did him just about 10 years to get to where he wanted to be. But now it's like, he's been on dancing with the stars and he's, you know, been, he hosted new year's the country new year's bash on TV like this past year. And he's been having hit after hit he's on tour with Carrie Underwood, like. Not a bad gig, right?
Like, you know, but you have to put the work in to get to where you want to be. And sometimes it does take a little bit longer than, uh, it does for somebody else, but you know, as long as you're putting the hustle in and you're loving what you're doing and then you're in the right place. All right. So keep doing it.
Keep plugging along. Um, and thank you so much for taking time this morning to be with us. And, uh, we'll have a brand new episode of voice coaches radio coming up next week. Stay safe, everybody.
This week on Voice Coaches Radio, Marissa chats with former VC student Mickenzie Haan! Mickenzie recently moved to Nashville after going through the program…how is she navigating a new career path in a new city?
