Meet Laura Jo (Davis) Campbell | Voice Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Jo (Davis) Campbell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura Jo (Davis), can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Both of my parents were self employed and worked from a home office in the basement throughout my childhood. I remember my mom would be on the phone with important clients in New York and my sister and I would be screaming in the background. While this is a common image to people these days, back then it was pretty rare, but because that was the reality of my every day life as a child, it was totally normal to me. The entrepreneurial spirit was modeled for me at a very young age and probably imprinted itself on me somewhere in the process. Additionally, my parents had what appeared to be a good work/life balance and relative control over their schedules. I wanted this for myself and nothing less. I wanted to build something, to have incentive to grow, to have something to call my own, and to see tangible results for every moment of work I put in, and to feel in charge of my life. I love teaching voice and knew I was good at it. So starting my own studio was just a matter of careful financial preparation and then getting the word out.

What should our readers know about your business?
LJDstudios has always been a one woman private voice studio. I have worked with clients of all ages and experience levels all over the world, but I am most proud of the niche I have most recently created for myself here in Colorado. While many voice teachers brand themselves as voice teachers to the stars, throwing out the names of the famous people they have taught, I am the voice teacher to those who truly believe they cannot sing. I am often a last ditch effort at a dream for a lot of people. It’s one thing to take someone with a lot of natural talent and experience and help sharpen their craft. It’s another to work with someone who can barely match pitch and get them to a place where they can succeed singing Karaoke at their local bar and do it well. These are the moments that make me the most proud of what my business has accomplished. If you think you can’t sing, you’re wrong. And I can help you.

I think I have found so much success with beginning singers because of my whole body/whole person approach to singing. I have multiple yoga teaching certifications and will often use techniques drawn from the yoga tradition to help people experience their bodies as an instrument. Sometimes I’m very anatomical with my use of yoga and movement. If I see tension in the chest we might do an expansive triangle pose. Other times the work is more energetic. It’s difficult to explain, but sometimes I can just tell by hearing someones voice if there’s an energetic imbalance, like a lack of grounding for instance. In that case, we might do some things to make them feel really safe, secure, and physically rooted. Or perhaps there is a heaviness in the voice. We might do some breath work to bring about a sense of lightness. For me there is no tool that is off limits. Sometimes people need a very concrete approach, and if that’s the case, I speak very literally about the science of singing. Other times they need a more creative and metaphoric approach, so I’ll use that too. I teach the person standing in front of me…the whole person…and not just the voice.

Being a business owner requires one to wear many hats, and that’s where I’ve found the biggest challenges. As my business has grown I’ve had to learn how to build a website, setup a streamlined system for onboarding new clients and processing payments, and most importantly, figure out a way to make space for everyone who wants to work with me. In an effort to create a learning space for as many people as possible, I’m currently working on a membership program that will offer a low cost low time commitment way to study with me. The goal of creating a membership program is to meet the needs of everyone who desires to sing and show them that they absolutely can.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My all time favorite place to catchup with friends is Vin Rouge…a neighborhood wine bar in the Berkley neighborhood. I currently live across the street from Red Rocks so we’d be sure to snag tickets to a concert there. We would definitely have to check out some of Denver’s amazing breweries like Cerebral or my favorite cider bar, Waldschanke. For an upscale celebration dinner we’d head to Spuntino and for a quick afternoon/evening bite we’d grab arepas at Quiero Arepas in Avanti. If the weather was nice, we’d take a stroll through RiNo and check out the artwork. If not, we might head inside to Meow Wolf. For sunset views we would head to the top of Lookout Mountain for a little exercise, we’d climb to the top of Mount Morrison.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents were huge supporters of me. They never doubted I would do something worthwhile with my music degree and I am so grateful to them for that. They also never doubted that I would be successful when I set out to start my own private studio. Pursuing a degree in music and starting your own business are both huge risks…risks I’m not sure I would have had the courage to take if I didn’t know there were people who believed in me. I also want to give a special shoutout to my former teacher, Mark Moliterno, founder of YogaVoice. The tools he taught me have had a huge impact on the way I approach my own teaching now. My whole person/whole body approach to singing was largely learned from him, and I’m so grateful for the years we worked together.

Website: ljdstudios.com

Instagram: @ljdstudios