“A Day in the Life” is a series where we’ll profile a variety of residents to get an intimate glimpse into their day-to-day. These are your neighbors. Get to know them.
When it comes to juggling a work-life balance, Cheryl Gale, seems to have it down. The managing partner at March Communications and mother of two helped start the boutique high tech PR firm nine years ago, and hasn’t looked back since. Just last week, the agency announced its national expansion into San Francisco and Chicago, where the firm will open up two new offices.
But in addition to growing March Communications, Gale has also dedicated herself to speaking with college students about tech PR. The PR professional has served on various panels – recently leading a discussion at Emerson College about how to not let “tech” scare you from joining a tech PR firm.
Here, the PR professional gives BostInno a glimpse into her busy, email-filled day.
How do you spend most mornings?
I get up three days a week at 5:15 a.m. and go to boot camp. By the time we emerge from the circuit training, the sun is just coming up. From there, I combine my home life with work life. I either go straight into the office in Boston or get my two daughters breakfast and off to school, while also checking for any urgent emails that may have come through from our European clients and partners.
What are the top priorities on your to-do list right now?
Embedding our new staff and clients and making sure our San Francisco and Chicago offices get off to a great start.
What is the worst part and the best part about your typical day?
They are one in the same. The best part of my day is that I spend a lot of my time meeting with staff and clients, working out solutions, talking about successes and figuring out the future. It comes as a cost, leaving me very little time to do “work” or read emails.
What inspired you to open a boutique tech PR firm in Boston?
I wanted to make a difference and create a firm, in partnership with Martin Jones, that would be a place that staff and clients were inspired by, and be happy to say they worked with and/or worked at.
If you could impart one piece of advice to our readers, what would it be?
I would suggest that in business we should always put human interaction first. It’s so easy to avoid face to face or even telephone contact these days. Take time to meet with people in person, walk over to their desk or pick up the phone. I am a heavy email and Skype user like most of us, and caution that we must balance our use of it.
What’s one TV show you can’t live without right now?
Downton Abbey
What would you do if you were suddenly granted a day off from work tomorrow?
Finish the book I am reading – Night Films.
If you weren’t answering my questions, what would you be doing instead?
Meeting with a colleague or speaking to a client … and hopefully checking email.
Think you have an interesting day-to-day life or know someone who does? Send an email to Marian
