After spending 15 years in the corporate world, Phoenix resident Lindsay Kirsh decided to take a chance on herself and started her own business in the Valley.
Moving to the U.S. from Canada in 2016, Kirsh began her career at a boutique public relations agency in Seattle before switching over to McDonald’s Corporate. There she oversaw all of the field public relations for the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains and the Midwest.
The end goal was always to build her own agency.
“I understood the importance of putting time into the corporate world to learn from senior leadership and seasoned industry pros,” said Kirsh, founder and chief public relations strategist at Slayer Public Relations in downtown Phoenix. “It was about getting as much experience as I could since the beginning of my career and eventually applying it to run a successful PR firm.”
After over six years working for McDonald’s, corporate employees were informed that the company was about to undergo a restructure. A lot of employees were laid off.
“We knew it was coming. My team and many other corporate roles were eliminated, which, to me, was a sign that this was the time to do it,” Kirsh said. “I prepared well in advance, weighed my options and for me, it boiled down to one…pursuing my dream of building an independent PR firm. The day that my team was laid off was the day that I formed this LLC. The opportunity presented itself and I knew if I didn’t take it then I never would.”
Slayer Public Relations opened in downtown Phoenix in April of 2023.
Veering off on your own comes with a lot of unknowns. The security of health insurance, a 401K or any other company benefits is gone.
“I had those fears of ‘How am I going to get clients? How am I going to promote Slayer PR? How am I going to be different from the competition? What is the approach I’m going to take?’ All of this was going through my mind, but I went for it,” explained Kirsh. “Many of us allow fear to guide us and I chose to fight against it and take control… Where there’s risk, there is also reward. Think about yourself as a professional in five or 10 years… will you feel as though you missed an opportunity due to the fear of the unknown?”
Kirsh said it comes down to mindset. She encourages everyone to really look at their self limiting beliefs and ask themselves how rational those fears truly are. Do you have enough faith in yourself?
In honor of Women’s History Month, Kirsh points out how important it is to remember how far we’ve come.
“Women need to remember they can be bold and they can be fearless. That is applicable to working for a company or going out on your own. I think it’s a matter of discovering it within ourselves as females,” said Kirsh. “We’re seeing a lot more women with leadership positions in corporations. Statistically we don’t see as many female entrepreneurs as we do male, and I believe there’s a shift coming.
“I would inspire women to remember who they are, what their values are and to always be bold, fearless and brave. Remember to be true to yourself and to go for it. Never let anybody take you off course or ever minimize you or make you feel inferior.”
As a die hard '90s grunge music fan, Kirsh spends a lot of her free time in vinyl stores adding to her collection. The name Slayer was inspired by her love of music and her fearless nature.
“I’ve always loved the name, it’s bold and it’s memorable," she said. "It’s a departure from conventional agency names. It’s bold, fearless and it’s edgy.”
With the agency’s two major focuses being in food and beverage, Slayer’s tagline is “A Cut Above The Rest.” The meaning is two-fold.
“One being a cut above the rest in the restaurant sense and being a cut above the rest as an independent female-led agency,” Kirsh said. “It’s bold and it’s strong, just like our brand and our team. That’s the key message here. Being bold, being fearless and having the right mindset. But also, being gentle with yourself.
“Don’t beat yourself up if you have fear or start doubting yourself as a professional or as an individual. Take the leap,” added Kirsh.
It has now been almost a year since Slayer PR opened in downtown Phoenix
“I always go back to the saying that with risk comes reward… but we have to get over our self limiting beliefs to be able to do it. Remind yourself every day that there’s no other option. Pretend other options don’t exist because that is self limiting,” Kirsh said. “Options don’t exist if you really want to be successful.”
For more information or to contact Slayer Public Relations, visit slayerpr.com.
