Back in 2019, two senior Brass staffers Kiran Watson and Lucy Baird teamed up to establish Lucky North.
The Leeds-based PR agency opened a new city centre office earlier this year and continues to build its rapidly growing team.
Prior to Brass and launching Lucky North, Watson held various high-ranking roles across the likes of Beattie Communications – now known as tigerbond – and Brand8.
Here, she shares all the lessons she’s learnt across her personal life and career…
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
The walk home from the school run each morning gives me this great chance to mentally plan and prepare for my day. It’s only ten minutes but that time to myself brings a deep sense of motivation, it really helps. It’s like a short mindfulness session just for me – I look at my diary, voice note my priorities to myself and get in the headspace for a positive start.
What’s been your luckiest break?
After uni I felt pulled towards a teaching career, despite my degree in PR and English. I was working in a temp job for a few months while my boyfriend (now husband) finished his degree and a company I was doing some admin for offered me a PR exec job. It felt like a real Sliding Doors moment – should I carry on with my plan and teach or take this chance
to start a career in PR? Looking back, it was such a natural step, I’m not sure I could see myself teaching now.
What’s your best failure?
I’m a big believer in destiny and that your path to get there can take you on any number of routes, so I don’t really see failures as failures, just stepping stones in the right direction.
When marketing agency Brass closed its doors a few years ago, Lucy and I were facing redundancy. It could have been really tough but she turned to me and said, “I’ve got a plan”. We spent that night talking about our future together over a KFC and bottle of wine and Lucky North was set up the following Monday.
What is the best investment you’ve ever made, either financial or time?
When Lucy and I started growing the Lucky North team we put a lot of time into finding the right people. It wasn’t instant but that investment has no doubt got us to where we are now. It all comes from my relationship with Lucy – there’s no one I’ve worked with better in any role I’ve had, and we really wanted to expand on that positive collaboration throughout the team. Our conversations to build plans for the future are the best investment I could ask for.
Which book would you recommend others to read and why?
I love reading to switch off, so my bookshelf is full of things I genuinely enjoy. I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins-Reid recently and got totally absorbed in the story. It’s a great read to disappear into someone else’s head for a while.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Being cautious isn’t always the right way – sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and do it. When I was facing the decision between PR and teaching I wish I could have known how much of a great opportunity the move into PR was going to be. I agonised over the decision and I wasn’t convinced for a little while that I’d actually made the right choice! Teaching seemed so much more of a solid career at the time and the ‘proper’ thing to do.
I’d tell myself to keep grafting too. The culture in PR was different back then – there was a lot of expectation to put in long hours, but I’d tell myself it’s worth it.
Who or what has had the single biggest influence on your working life?
My mum died within days of me turning 13 and there’s no doubt that grief on that scale changes how you look at things. Grief as I’ve become older and had my own family has morphed; I try to use the emotion positively to help support me through challenges and opportunities in life and business. I’d go as far as to say I use my grief as encouragement – I’m fired up to provide for my family and make every day positive and special for my three young children.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
I really enjoy bird watching! I think it provides a great escape, a chance to quiet the mind after a busy day – especially in PR when so much of the job involves talking and interacting, it’s nice to do something totally different.
When you’re an employee you can switch off at the end of the day but as a co-founder you need more methods to relax. I noticed how much I enjoyed bird watching around the same time as we founded Lucky North, so I use it as a regular form of escapism now.
I was really chuffed with the new Lucky North office on Park Place with its gorgeous big windows. I thought I’d be able to combine work with some bird watching but all we get are slightly manky looking city pigeons!
What does success look like to you?
A happy team and happy clients. It’s not all about monetary success. I believe everyone should enjoy work – we spend so much of our life doing it, so when everyone is finding it enjoyable it really makes me proud that we’re building something great with Lucky North.
