Getting to know... Gemma Eccleston

In the latest instalment of Bdaily’s Getting to know... feature, which looks at the person behind the business profile, Gemma Eccleston, managing director of Manchester-based Hendrix Rose PR, talks about choosing PR over journalism and policing, building a business alongside a family and her lifelong love of Stockport County Football Club.

We know you as the founder and managing director of Hendrix Rose PR, but who is the person behind the title? Tell us a little about what makes you tick…

Growing up, I learned that achieving what you want requires hard work – there were no handouts.

I was the first person in my family to go to university, where I graduated with a first-class degree.

I’m also proud to have bought my first car and my own home through my own hard work.

I’m naturally competitive and always want to perform to the best of my ability.

I’m also a natural-born leader, and I’ve never particularly liked being told what to do!

Deep down, I think I always knew I would eventually start my own company.

Did you always want to work in PR?

Not exactly.

I studied journalism at university and initially thought that was the route I would take.

However, one of my lecturers gave me some characteristically blunt advice: journalism was “dying on its arse” and I should consider PR because that was where the opportunities and the money would be.

I’ve also always been interested in crime and policing, so while applying for PR roles, I applied to join the police too.

I made it through to the final round, but then a leading PR agency in Manchester contacted me and offered me a job.

I took that as a sign that PR was the path I was meant to follow.

What’s the best bit about your job? And the worst?

I still get a real buzz from securing a brilliant piece of coverage for a client.

There’s nothing quite like landing a front cover or a double-page spread and knowing that your work has delivered something genuinely valuable.

I also love the creative side of the job: writing, developing PR strategies and coming up with ideas that help clients achieve their wider objectives.

Every client and challenge is different, which keeps the work interesting.

The worst part, particularly when I was younger, was being told to ring journalists with somebody else’s story when I didn’t believe it was strong enough.

As a junior, you didn’t have much to say, so you simply had to make the call and occasionally endure having the phone put down on you.

It certainly teaches you resilience!

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Becoming a mum while setting up and running my own business.

The juggle is very real, but I wouldn’t change it.

Building Hendrix Rose PR alongside raising my young children has certainly been challenging at times, but it has also been incredibly rewarding.

I’m proud of what I’ve achieved in both parts of my life.

How do you relax outside of work?

I enjoy going to the gym, although a lot of my time outside work is spent with my kids, which I love. 

My partner owns Teletech, one of the world’s biggest techno brands, so I also travel to his events around the world when time allows.

I’ve gradually learned to embrace the banging nature of the music.

This year alone, it has taken me to Malta, Greece, Miami, France, Germany and Amsterdam, so I certainly can’t complain.

What makes Stockport such a great place to live and work?

You may have seen the slogan ‘Stockport Isn’t Sh*t’; it’s even on merchandise, which captures the town’s self-deprecating sense of humour.

Stockport has also recently been described as the new Berlin.

I’m not sure I’d go quite that far, but there’s no denying it is going places.

The Underbanks, in particular, has become home to some brilliant independent bars, restaurants and co-working spaces, and there’s a real sense of energy and regeneration around the town centre.

At the same time, Stockport has plenty of leafy suburbs and green spaces, so it offers a great balance.

It’s also exceptionally well connected. You can be in central Manchester in around 20 minutes by train, which makes it a fantastic place to live and run a business.

Tell us something about you we didn’t know…

I’m a massive Stockport County fan and have supported them since I was a child – so it has been more than 30 years now for my sins!

When I was younger, I travelled to home and away matches on the County Juniors bus.

I’ve been a mascot, followed the team to Wembley numerous times and stayed loyal through the highs and the very lows – and there have been a lot of lows.

Former County goalkeeper Carlo Nash is now a fellow parent at my children’s school.

I don’t think he was expecting me to go straight over and have a complete fan-girl moment when I recognised him…!

Want your business, product or service to be seen regionally and nationally? Bdaily helps you get your story in front of the right audience, every day. Find out how Bdaily can help →

Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here.