Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Sena.
Suzanne, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been working on-camera for as long as I can remember. I started doing local commercials, and they led to national commercials and movie roles – and then I discovered the world of Tv Hosting. I got cast as a host of an entertainment magazine show while living near Atlanta – and from there I ended up moving out to LA to work for E!. Four years there as an entertainment reporter and the host of Celebrity Homes (for which we were nominated for an Emmy!), and I even created, produced and hosted my own “reality” show called Out to Lunch – in which I got to take celebrities out to lunch and interview them!
After E!, I did some work on Extra, and then got an offer to become a news anchor in a Top Ten market – Dallas. Knowing news experience was key to landing a national morning show, I accepted, but quickly discovered I didn’t enjoy news. I came back briefly to LA but then landed a job as a national news anchor with the number one cable news channel – the Fox News Channel. Fox was not a fit for me, politics-wise, but it was a great job with national exposure and benefits. Eventually, though, I felt I wasn’t living my authentic life – and decided to come back to LA. Determined to STAY in LA, I decided to start a company teaching others what I had perfected – how to read the teleprompter with ease and be their best selves on camera. The company took off rather quickly, but then another opportunity beckoned, allowing me to combine my acting skills, anchor skills and comedy – I was cast as the lead role in the IFC sitcom, The Onion News Network. The Onion shot in NYC, but only for a few weeks a season, so I was able to continue building my business at the same time. I partnered with Carolyne Barry Acting Academy and introduced a multi-level hosting curriculum, and in 2013 I opened my first studio (then in Mid-Wilshire), and shortly after became a partner in a production studio in Beverly Hills. My client lists have grown exponentially, ranging from executives, to celebrities, to aspiring hosts….to public speakers.
In 2016, I opened a training studio in Sherman Oaks, and increased my staff to help accommodate the demand for coaching. My coaches are all working hosts and between us we’ve been seen on ABC, FNC, OWN, MTV, E!, EXTRA, and so many more networks. I’m proud to say that our coaches all teach from a place of motivation and encouragement – we are all vested in the success of our students and clients…and our own career experiences give us a unique insider’s perspective on auditioning, bookings and hosting career advice.
This year has been another outstanding year. My company was featured in an article in the Saturday Evening Post, In Touch Weekly, and Life and Style Weekly. We were awarded “best in LA” for Teleprompter Training. We expanded our training to the East Coast, holding workshops in Florida…and have grown our skype coaching business as a result. I published an E-book, “So You Wanna Be A Host,” and launched a subscription hosting club called the Inner Circle, for graduates of our classes who want on-going mentorship.
I’m proud to say that I have found a great balance between working as an on-camera host, and coaching others so that they, too, can achieve their hosting dreams. I’m fortunate to be hired regularly as a commercial spokesperson, am a recurring guest host on HSN, and just started a new on-going contract as the host of Money Morning Profit Watch, an online financial news show.
Today I have the exact life I’d hoped to have. I work hard, and I play hard – and the rewards for both have been great!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road is never smooth, is it? I always say, if it was EASY….well then, everyone would do it!
Yes, there were struggles. Anyone who works as a performer knows the heartache and sacrifice involved. So many plans that were sacrificed due to a last-minute audition. So many “close calls” to landing the job of my dreams, only to be down to “one of two” in final contention but not be chosen as the one (Live with Regis, anyone? Thanks, Kelly Ripa!)
There were long periods between on-camera contracts at times. Moves to cities in which I didn’t care to live. Distance from loved ones….and let’s not forget the hours required for my job at Fox News – the overnight shift.
It’s feast or famine in the world of performing. Making a lot, or making nothing. It’s also VERY difficult to balance personal relationships with the demands and focus of an on-camera career.
But worth it? Absolutely. 🙂 The struggles to get there make success all the sweeter.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Sena-Series Media Training – what should we know?
Sena-Series Media Training trains anyone who wants to improve their confidence, public speaking skills, presentation skills and on-camera skills. We’re known for our teleprompter training and also for our hosting classes.
We aren’t like any other media training companies that I know of – because we’re all working hosts and performers ourselves. We make training fun – and we get results, FAST. We are different from any other hosting classes, because we teach from personal experience – and have a multi-tiered program, so that students can continue their professional career growth and take it as far as they want.
I’m most proud of the successes of our clients and students. A person I trained to overcome his fear of public speaking so that he could perform a marriage ceremony for his two best friends told me I changed his life forever. One of my students, Keltie Knight, has gone on to great heights, hosting the CBS Thanksgiving Day Parade and most recently joining the team at ET. Karamo Brown, who sometimes coaches for us, was a student who was told by another hosting coach he would never work as a host – and has found great success hosting on everything from OWN to AccessLive to the History Channel and MTV! I love that we can spot something special in someone and see a future that they cannot yet see for themselves – and help them get there.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The success of my company is shared with those who have helped me build it, my coaches (Jonathan Sterritt, Rasha Goel to name a couple) …and my former business partner, Carolyne Barry.
My personal support group has also been instrumental. When I was just out of college and living in New Mexico, I became friends with a young woman and moved in with her. She was barely 20 but had her own company, and watching her and occasionally assisting her gave me the motivation to start my own company as well, which I did that every year. All these years later, we are still best friends – and her support and motivation help me in all I do. Likewise, another best friend I met in college owns and operates her own business in Michigan – our weekly discussions provide support, insight and motivation to keep setting goals and aiming higher.
My mother passed away more than 30 years ago, but my brother is also a friend and supporter. He pursued a career in politics, and was a state representative – and we found a lot of commonalities in being in the “public eye.” My brother has been my lifeline at times – always urging me on, no matter how challenging things might get.
In business, I have been so fortunate to have found wonderful mentors, and without them, would not be where I am today. Michael Levine, a prolific author and well-known publicist, is responsible for sending the word out about my very first teleprompter training course in his popular E-Lert daily newsletter; and in the process, generated an awareness of my business among a high-profile crowd. One of my clients is a high-level manager, whose business acumen blows me away. As a speaker, he was one of my first private clients, and his endorsement of my work and teaching techniques opened the door to many, many others.
Being an entrepreneur means I’m working all the time – and being an on-camera talent means I’m not always in control of my time or schedule. Having a supportive (and proud) husband makes it all so much easier…and I’m truly lucky to have a core group of women in my life, my closest gal-pals, who are brilliant, motivational, supportive, their encouragement over the years has made it all worthwhile.
The truth is, so many people have helped me along the way – but the greatest help has come from being professional, having integrity, and doing good work. Word of mouth goes a long way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.senaseries.com
- Email: talentcoaching@gmail.com
- Instagram: Suzanne_sena
- Twitter: @suzannesena
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
