Milestone Casting Studios is a casting facility, providing services for productions shot in Toronto as well as the rest of the world looking for talent from this region. At the helm of Milestone Casting Studios is Chris Miles, who at a young age decided to follow his love for music and go into sound recording. In doing so completely (or so he thought) disregarded the degree in economics he had just received from the University Of Guelph. Shortly after this experience, he began editing and producing trailers and corporate videos. It was here that Chris saw an opportunity to create Vagabond Studios, Canada’s first mobile ADR (Automatic Dialog Replacement) studio. This allowed actors to record their ADR on set, eliminating the need to book time out of their shooting schedule to travel to a fixed studio. Vagabond has worked on such projects as Relic Hunter, Wild Card, Monk, Little Men, Witchblade, Mutant X, and even Baywatch. During this time Chris was instrumental in setting up the technical side of Gun For Hire Casting Studios. He continually developed his knowledge and contact base in the industry which allowed him to create his own casting facility.
One of the best parts of owning a business is that I get to make it fun
Milestone Casting Studios offer studio space, web video audition posting, editing, actor demo reel production, off site casting, and full production services through Lucky Friday Productions Inc. (Chris is also a partner of this venture). Milestone Casting Studios has since become the most technically advanced and well respected stand alone casting facility in Toronto, providing casting services for such productions as Cinderella Man, The Hulk, Flashpoint, Rookie Blue, Grey Gardens, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Hairspray and Twilight.
You have quite a big portfolio of productions that have used your services, how did the idea for Milestone Casting Studios come about?
I was working at Alliance Films in Post Production when a friend of mine took a job to manage a new casting facility in Toronto. They needed a list of equipment (cameras, lighting, sound etc.) for the space and asked me to set them up. I remained involved with them doing upkeep and working the cameras during some of their casting. This enabled me to learn the business and get to know many of the local casting directors and producers.
The American parent company for that casting studio ended up declaring bankruptcy and had their pieces sold off. The studio ended up being purchased by someone who didn’t really have the experience or interest to run a casting facility and it affected business. We discussed the idea of me purchasing it from her but after agreeing to terms, the new owner backed out and then attempted to sell it to me for a much higher price.
During this time I had spoken to a number of casting directors about the possibility of creating a facility myself and received enough positive feedback that I decided to start up Milestone Casting Studios from scratch and officially launched it August 2002.
Since you didn’t get that original space, how did you decide on the location for the studio?
Most of the Toronto film studios and production offices are located within 1 to 2 kilometres of Milestone Casting. Luckily, the building I moved into had just begun looking for tenants after a major overhaul. Milestone was the second tenant on the floor, enabling me to have carte blanche on the design. I was even able to convince the landlord to install giant skylights over the lobby and kitchen.
I enjoy having an excuse to buy cool stuff. I’m lucky that my clients appreciate that.
After so many years in the industry and 8 years running your own business, what do you most attribute your success?
Attention to detail. There are 2 very distinct sides to the services that Milestone Casting provides.
There’s the technical side involving the shooting, lighting, sound, editing etc. We use technology to accomplish 2 things: quality and speed. The auditions that we manage and deliver are our biggest form of marketing. Every person that ends up viewing an audition shot here is a potential client. So we need it to be great from the actual video and audition quality down to something as simple and nice as well branded labels or an easy to use web interface for viewing auditions. Speed comes from a combination of cutting edge equipment and a well trained, competent staff.
The other side is service. This involves making sure that people enjoy their time while they are in studio. Actors, producers, casting directors and agency people can all spend long hours here and the easier we can make that experience for them the more likely they are to return – from comfortable seating in the studios down to the hot coffee and snacks we provide. We’ve even gone as far as searching all over town for a specific brand of iced tea that Drew Barrymore requested during casting for Grey Gardens. Odd requests such as these are a perfect opportunity to show that you set the bar higher than any of your competitors.
Often times, rewards come with some sacrifices, what do you feel you have sacrificed to be a successful entrepreneur?
Time, although I’ve been working on this and my wife and daughter are thankful for it (I hope!).
At times I miss the consistency of a regular pay check, knowing that each month you will receive x amount of dollars and be able to budget accordingly. All that longing tends to disappear once you’ve had a few good months.
Oh yeah, did I mention it’s nice as an entrepreneur to have no long term memory. That way when things are going well you can just assume that’s the way it will always be…
Having said that, what do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
The ability to not need the comfort of that regular paycheck. Entrepreneurs are definitely less risk averse than most. When starting a new business, at the very least you are exposing yourself to some level of financial risk from the capital investment. You may also be saying goodbye to your old faithful pay check that won’t be coming if your startup requires you to leave your previous career to oversee it full time.
What was the most difficult part on starting up Milestone Casting and what steps did you take to overcome it?
I started Milestone Casting just before the SARS outbreak in Toronto. This pretty much killed production in Toronto for 3 or 4 months. Many Canadian projects decided to either hold off until the dust settled or move their shoots to other cities. American productions couldn’t get insurance even if they wanted to shoot here! Needless to say this was not helping at a time when I was hoping to get a little cash flow to offset the cost of putting this thing together.
I felt the only solution was to find a cure for SARS, and quick. However, Milestone Casting as it turned out wasn’t well equipped for this so after a frustrating week, I turned to additional services that were more complementary to our existing business model. We started editing demo reels for actors, putting actor auditions on tape to send to less SARS-riddled cities, and using the space to rent out for acting and auditioning classes. These revenue streams without the casting don’t make us profitable but got us through the rough patch and have been a steady form of additional business ever since.
How did you obtain investors for your venture?
I had three diverse but equally important financial resources that I accessed when starting Milestone.
1. Personal Savings
2. Credit
3. Mom and Dad
1 and 2 were easy, #3 was more difficult. They’re still waiting for that Ethiopian prince to send them their money…
In all seriousness, I wanted to start a business that I had experience in and clients ready to jump onboard. With Milestone, I could start from scratch. After speaking to a number of casting directors, I put together a wish list of studio features. This plan inevitably made for a better studio once completed but just as importantly, gave clients a sense of involvement in the process, hopefully with budding loyalty before our first day of business.
What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
1. A strong work ethic – This should come naturally if you’ve gotten to the point of starting your own business. A combination of a drive to see your idea come to fruition and a nagging fear of failure should usually eliminate any kind of clock watching.
2. Good social skills – Every entrepreneur will need to sell himself or herself along with the business. Creating key industry relationships is extremely important to get the ball rolling.
3. Courage – It can be a little scary once you realize how much money you have invested in something that’s not guaranteed to succeed but if it was easy, then someone else probably would have done it already.
4. Creativity – I know this is breaking the rules a little with a 4th skill but it’s too important for me to neglect. A successful entrepreneur needs to find a way to do things differently in order to stand out. Otherwise there’s no compelling reason to get started in the first place.
Latching on to my inner geek has helped in my business. I love getting my hands on the newest bestest bits of technology.
Seeing as how creativity made your list, how do you generate new ideas?
I have 100 monkeys typing on 100 typewriters. If the monkeys are having an off day then hopefully something can present itself to me and I’m alert enough to spot the opportunity. I used to write music and keep a small notebook with me to jot down any lyrical ideas that pop up in everyday life. The same approach can work in business as well. I don’t carry a notebook anymore, but who needs to now with iPhones and Blackberrys?
What do you do when you are not working?
Lots of sports. Hockey, volleyball, baseball, wakeboarding, skiing. I’ve always loved sports for the fun but keeping in shape also helps my energy level in regular day to day life tremendously. I have a great home gym as well and if I don’t get a chance to exercise during the day I can always squeeze something in at home.
I still sing and play guitar, mainly to my daughter Sienna now. Great stress reliever – for both of us.
What motivates you and makes you happy?
I’ve always enjoyed an environment where I can succeed or fail on my own. Working harder or finding ways to make your business better will usually provide fairly tangible returns, both emotionally and of course financially.
What makes me happy? Picking up my daughter from daycare, scoring a goal in hockey, being greeted by my dog Bam, warm sunny weekends in Muskoka, cold sunny days at Whistler, just the thought of Puerto Vallarta does the trick. But most of all these days, spending time with family – my wife Elayne, daughter Sienna, Mom, Dad and brothers.
How do you keep your employees motivated and engaged?
We have between 4 and 6 employees depending on the season. I keep a fairly relaxed working environment at Milestone in the hope that if my employees are treated fairly and with respect they will return that in kind. I encourage them to think through problems themselves while at the same time ask as many questions as necessary. There’s nothing worse than something going wrong because someone was afraid to ask.
I think if you were to ask anyone who works here they’d tell you that it’s a great environment to be in and that translates into a high level of pride and satisfaction in what they do. Of course some people thrive in this environment better than others but overall I couldn’t be happier with the people that have worked here over the years.
One of the best parts of owning a business is that I get to make it fun. We work hard but that doesn’t mean the place can’t be enjoyable! We have a pinball machine, Wii, guitars, drum kit, Golden Tee and air hockey – all things not touched until after work is done but do wonders to promote good, cohesive relationships between staff and clients alike once it’s time to relax.
What is the single piece of advice you have for an aspiring entrepreneur?
Always be aware of opportunities. If you keep your eyes and ears open things can present themselves. Anytime you find yourself saying “They should really come up with a better way of doing this” ask yourself why you can’t be “they”. Of course it’s not always possible but if you’re open to it and the timing is right, there’s a good chance that some of these ideas could come to fruition.
What is success to you, and in your opinion, what is the best way to achieve long-term success?
Being able to step away from work without adverse effects. Most of the hard work in being an entrepreneur goes into creating something that one day can be run without you to some extent. This took a while for me wrap my head around. I used to be at the studio at least 12 hours per day and at times just stay all night. It can be a bit of a blow to the ego to realize that things won’t fall apart without you but I managed to get over it.
Being excited about improving your business. Latching on to my inner geek has helped in my business. I love getting my hands on the newest bestest bits of technology.
That’s why we were the first casting facility to stream our auditions over the web. The first to record to DVD. The first to use new cameras that shoot video with a film look to them. Long term success comes from enjoying what you do. I enjoy having an excuse to buy cool stuff. I’m lucky that my clients appreciate that.
I believe that to be successful, one should not feel constrained by any particular pattern or formula. Keep a level of awareness to your clients’ / consumers’ needs and be ready to adjust quickly and efficiently to meet them. Nothing groundbreaking, I know, but it’s this ability to continually modify any existing patterns or formula that keeps your company fresh and innovative. Oh yeah, and don’t be evil.
What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
Day 1! That first day, after everyone else has left and you start to realize that this just might work. It’s incredible how much time and money are spent leading up to that one moment!
How far are you willing to go to succeed?
I’m willing to go all the way but so far I’ve only managed to get to second base.
Describe/outline your typical day?
Can be very different from day to day, and can involve any and all of the following:
- Invoicing and accounting
- Trips to the bank
- Greeting clients and overseeing the general wellbeing of their casting sessions
- Web posting auditions
- Travelling offsite for casting held away from Milestone
- Putting together production budgets
- Tinkering with equipment that needs a little tinker
But mostly my day consists of neurotically watching over actors to ensure that they don’t steal pens or toilet paper…
In the beginning, I was working somewhere around 12-15 hours a day but I’ve settled into a fairly consistent 8 hours recently. Having daycare duty has helped get me home earlier. Plus, I have a home office so that I am able to take care of some things from there if need be.
Every entrepreneur will need to sell himself or herself along with the business.
How do you build a successful customer base?
The casting industry is dependent on word of mouth. We have no advertising budget, but there’s lots of networking. It’s important to create and maintain healthy relationships with casting directors, producers and directors. When space is available we offer it to smaller, low budget productions at a price that just covers our costs. Although we don’t make money at the time, there’s a good chance that these clients will be back once they do have budgets to work with on future projects. Basically, if we do a good job and make it fun, people come back.
What has been your most successful form of marketing?
As I said before, there really isn’t too much traditional marketing. Although in the beginning, I did send out pictures of my brand new Wheaton terrier puppy “Bam” to casting directors asking them to “Help feed a starving puppy, come to Milestone Casting Studios”. This blatant pull at the heartstrings may have worked to some extent but more importantly, it made Bam a legitimate business expense…
What future plans do you have for your business?
We’re looking for another space to open at least a third studio, possibly fourth including a voice casting room for voiceover work (my sound background creeping back again). There’s nothing worse than turning away business. OK, not having business at all is worse, but turning it away doesn’t feel so good either.
We’ve already diversified into production, editing, and classes. The voice casting idea is the next branch on the Milestone tree. It’s complementary to our existing business, doesn’t require much space and should be a lot of fun. If nothing else I can record my next hit album there.
What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
My greatest fear is that suddenly no one will come anymore. This was a much worse neurosis earlier on than now. If I had a few days or god forbid, a week without work, I’d get the impending feeling that it was all over and nobody liked me anymore. I’m much more aware of the ebb and flow of the industry now. If I’m feeling particularly neurotic I’ll do some accounting to remind me that things are not as dire as they seem. (note: do not use this approach if things happen to be as dire as they seem).
What are your ideals?
I’m a big fan of the Golden Rule. Whether you’re religious or not “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” works. Also, my wife would like me to add “Always put the toilet seat down.”
If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?
I’d warn Eve not to listen to that stupid snake. Good advice for anyone actually.
What is your favorite book?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Such a funny book. It tricks you into deep philosophical thought.
Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?
Has to be Google. Those guys from the beginning have done nothing but push the envelope. Also I stole their “Don’t be evil” slogan. I guess that’s a little evil.
What were some of the emotional challenges that you have when you started up your entrepreneurial journey? What did you do to overcome it?
Really the biggest hurdle was getting over the mental block that owning your own business was something that other people did who were smarter, wealthier and more experienced than I was. Stuart Smalley helped get me through this. Actually, like many new experiences, once I dove in I was too busy to worry about these things anymore. Any time I feel stressed out about business, there is absolutely nothing better to calm my emotions than working my ass off!
If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
Study harder, although that’s easy for me to say now. I have a sneaky feeling that where Present Me would like Past Me to have studied harder, Future Me would probably have Present Me getting out and playing more.
What is your favourite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Being asked to interview for Startup 3.0! (great answer!)
My second favourite is being master of my own domain. In a word, I’d have to characterize my life as an entrepreneur as “rewarding”. Creating something that is wholly yours and can reflect your own personality, style and ambition is extremely fulfilling.
While Chris’s passion for the business and love of the industry has helped catapult Milestone Casting Studios to the forefront of the film, television and commercial world, it’s his humour, quick wit and tongue in cheek attitude that keeps his ideas fresh and innovative. He is in tuned with the needs of his clients and continues to channel his “inner geek” to find the latest and greatest in technology to service the demands of the entertainment industry.
To contact Milestone Casting Studios click on: http://www.milestonecasting.com/
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Brilliant article! Inspiring! Great to see a Canadian company do well. I’ve watched many of the things that he’s worked on.
Keep your eye on them…sounds like they will be doing much more in the future!
Great article. This is the real deal. Chris is the real deal. When others talk about servicing their clients Chris actually does. Back in the days before it was possible to post auditions online Chris missed the FedEx deadline for U.S. shipping. He had a client who was expecting to see casting in LA. This meant that the client would not be seeing the tape (historical note – we actually used video tape in the olden days both 3/4″ & 1/2″) the next day. Chris hand carried the tape and flew at his expense to deliver them. Industry myth or fact? Knowing Chris Miles it is most likely true. Then again, it was probably the depths of winter and a few days in LA …..well, you do the math.
thanks for sharing that story! that is a great example of how you can always find a win/win situation for a client with a little ingenuity!!
Great, inspiring article. I often wonder though, to make a ‘dream’ company a success, off course financial support is crucial but it takes more support from family members and it seems like Chris has just that. A supporting wife and daughter.
Having the support of friends and family does make it being a successful entrepreneur even sweeter.
Chris you are the heart of this enterprise. Cuddles to you, to be able to live your passion.