Ashley Davis: Voice-Over Entrepreneur

Drawing on inspiration from previous work in the industry and voiceover classes she had as a student, Ashley Davis (B.A. '08) decided to form her own voice-over company, "Badashvoice.com," in Maui, Hawaii.

Originally from Canton, IL, Ashley's career thus far has seen her garner success at every stop. After graduating in 2008, she was hired as an On-Air Talent at Illini Radio Group in Champaign, IL. While in Champaign, IL, a dynamic opportunity to be an Afternoon Host at a brand new station in Asheville, North Carolina, WTMT, 105.9 FM, "The Mountain," presented itself. While in North Carolina, she became Music Director, Assistant Program Director, and hosted two local music shows, all the while gaining a wealth of knowledge in radio and garnering much success, including being singled out two years in a row as the #1 DJ in Western North Carolina.

During her stay in Champaign, IL, and Asheville, NC, she had the chance to voice commercials. In addition, she obtained side gigs in voicing promotional videos for production companies.

For Ashley, Columbia College is where her passion for voiceover began. "Once I got to Columbia, I was able to obtain the skill set to pursue this as a career. Taking the Voice and Articulation and Voiceover courses taught me so much about the industry. Each week we would practice different styles, perfect dry reads, work on ad-libbing, and then, actually put together a real demo that we sent to voiceover agencies. This is real life experience first hand!"

Working under the name "Bad Ash" in both Champaign, IL and Asheville, NC, Ashley felt it was imperative and relevant to her past work to use the moniker for "Badashvoice.com." The company features Ashley as the voice talent for hire, in addition to a bevy of voice actors on hand in case clients want multiple voices for their specific project.

According to Ashley, "I'm happy to report that some large companies have hired Badashvoice.com as well as several repeat small business clients. Starting small was important to work out the kinks. Maintaining social media is very important, and keeping current has helped Badashvoice.com promote clients and other happenings. Now the object is to continue to brand myself, and offer the best quality "Voice" for any business interested in the services."