This is the third in our series celebrating female business Cheltenham owners inspired by International Women’s Day. As a woman in business myself I am always thrilled to support other local businesses, I’m so proud of my florist shop Make Their Day Flowers in Charlton Kings and the online delivery business and my amazing team and love to give back to the community where I can.
In the spotlight today is the wonderful Serena Gay, who boasts an impressive CV with extensive experience as a broadcast journalist and voice-over-artist including many years working for the BBC before starting her own company Made4U Podcasts.
Tell us a little about your business?
I launched Made4U Podcasts in 2018 to launch, produce and host podcasts for business clients to help them reach a new and profitable stream of clients. We work mainly with women business owners. The pandemic forced me to rethink my business model and although the business has largely recovered from the shock of lockdown, we are currently planning to deliver a podcasting skills course online later this year. We are building our online presence with that in mind through a podcast called “Podcast Launch Pad“, a Facebook Group called Podcasting Blueprint for Women Business Owners, and a weekly newsletter.
Is there a woman that inspired you to start your business?
No – although marketing experts Amy Porterfield and Steph Taylor have inspired me to develop it in a different direction.
Who is a strong woman that you have looked up to?
The headmistress of my last school, Stephanie Fierz. She was a tad eccentric, incredibly kind but also a force to be reckoned with. She also had a wonderful sense of humour.
What message would you give to your younger self, knowing what you do now?
Study harder at school, don’t waste time, be more intentional about adding to your skill set, eat less, exercise more.
What have been your biggest hurdles as a woman in business?
I can’t really say that the fact of being a woman has been a hindrance in any way. But I deeply regret that my maths education was allowed to slip partly because it wasn’t deemed so important for a girl. My lack of confidence as an adult with numbers has definitely been a problem.
We hope that you’re enjoying this series and enjoying finding out more about the Cheltenham Business owners we have featured by heading over to their websites and finding out more about what they do. You can see our other features here and here.
