Former Lawyer Wins Powys Entrepreneurship Award for Burnout Push

Serena Taylor, owner of The Serenity Reset in Knighton, took home the Entrepreneurship Award at this year's Powys Business Awards, beating two finalists the winner herself called "so strong." NPTC Group of Colleges sponsored the award, presented at a Friday night ceremony at The Infantry Battle School, Dering Lines, Brecon. The prize lands on a business that only opened in 2023.

Taylor is a former lawyer and teacher who now works as an advanced yoga teacher, somatic movement coach and breathwork practitioner. Her own experience with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and burnout drives the business model. Her pitch to employers is blunt: catch burnout before it turns into long-term sickness absence.

What does the business actually sell?

The Serenity Reset works directly with employers on workplace wellbeing, burnout prevention and support for people living with chronic illness. Taylor's method draws on her background in Neuro-Linguistic Programming and life coaching.

She framed the ambition in precise terms: "My ambition is to help businesses identify burnout before it becomes absence and, where possible, eliminate unnecessary workplace stress at its source."

She was equally explicit about what she is not selling. "It's not simply about giving employees a couple of hours to relax," she said. "It's about creating meaningful, sustainable changes that improve wellbeing, productivity, job satisfaction and staff retention." The claim ties wellness spending to retention and productivity — a link employers will want evidence for, and one Taylor says the award now helps validate.

Why the award matters for a two-year-old firm

Taylor said the recognition carries commercial weight for a young company. "It is wonderful to have won this award, especially as the other two finalists were so strong," she said. "As a new business, this will help build that trust that I need to help people. We are responding to real community needs, removing barriers to participation, investing in professional excellence and continuing to grow."

The judges cited "clear vision, strong leadership and determination." In their citation, they said: "She has combined hard-earned life skills with a well-developed business plan, sound finances and a focused approach to growth." Notably, the judges pointed to sound finances — a detail small wellness ventures are rarely asked to prove publicly.

Runners-up in the Entrepreneurship Award category were Quabbs Cabin in Knighton and Mid Wales Lodges in Llandrindod Wells. The Mid Wales Manufacturing Group organises the awards, which celebrate business success across Powys.

How big is the stress problem she cites?

Taylor leaned on two workforce figures to make her case. "It is so important to understand that 92% of the workforce this year has said that they have come under immense stress and 35% of our workforce say that they are constantly under stress," she said. "When you are living with that kind of stress and worry, it sucks the joy out of life and creates illness."

Those numbers — roughly nine in ten workers reporting intense stress, and just over a third reporting constant stress — frame a large potential market, though the source does not name the survey behind them.

What else sits behind the brand?

Since opening in 2023, the studio has become a busy community hub, according to the award announcement. The business also offers classes online, extending its reach beyond rural mid Wales.

Taylor has published two companion books, The Serenity Reset and The Serenity Kitchen, outlining her method for burnout, fibromyalgia and nervous system recovery. The books plus the online classes give the business revenue lines that do not depend on the Knighton studio's physical footprint.

Other Powys Business Awards winners this year included a technology award for Morland's automated panel production line, a healthcare firm with global reach, an electronics company exporting to 35 countries, a vet practice named best small business, and a family-run firm taking a top award. For a two-year-old wellness studio to stand among manufacturers and exporters suggests the county's judges reward business fundamentals over sector size.