Check Out Kimberly McGregor’s Story

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly McGregor.

Hi Kimberly, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in a single-family home with my mother, a school teacher, after my parents divorced when I was three years old. My father was very present and would pick me up every other weekend. I had a beautiful relationship with my three grandparents.

Both of my grandmothers were entrepreneurs; one taught piano in her home, the other was a beautician in her home, and my grandfather retired as the first black Assistant Principal of a predominantly white high school. After receiving a Master’s in Counselor of Education from NC A&T State University, I worked as a school counselor for many years in all three grade bands- high school, middle school, and elementary school.

I even worked part-time briefly as a counselor at Central Piedmont Community College. During my six years as an elementary school counselor, I was the only school counselor in the building with 725 scholars. There was no social worker, 504 Coordinator, or parent advocate to assist me. Also, when the administration was out of the building, I was left in charge. During this time, I built strong relationships with many of the parents in our building.

So many of them needed help communicating various situations that were going on at home with their children. Some were school-related, and some were personal. These conversations led me to write my first book, Let’s Talk, Social Emotional Learning. This is a guide that I created to assist parents in getting the conversation started with their children because so many had a hard time being vulnerable and did not know how to talk to them.

Some of the chapters in the book include forgiveness, anger, and stress, to name a few. I now have an interactive workbook journal that goes along with the book that parents can read/work on with their child regarding these touchy topics. After six years of running small and large counseling groups, conducting 504 meetings, setting up parent-teacher conferences, participating in EC meetings, going to mandatory professional development training, and supporting teachers/staff, just to name some of the duties of a school counselor, needless to say, I was pretty burned out.

There were not as many SEL lessons being taught as I would have liked because there was not enough time in the day, and there was only one ME! In December 2018, my husband and two children, Myles and Sydney, gifted me with my own LLC and named it SYDKIMYL (SYDNEY, KIM, MYLES). I had talked of starting my own business for awhile but did not know the first thing about entrepreneurship or what my business would look like.

In June 2019, when Sydney graduated from CMS, so did I! I took a leap of FAITH, resigned from my job, and contacted what was at the time ‘Boss Business Marketing’, a woman-owned firm led by Naomi Thomas. She assisted with my Marketing and Business Plan and helped my dream of SYDKIMYL become a reality. We were in business in August 2019 and got our first big contract with Mecklenburg County in January 2020- a pilot program teaching SEL. Once COVID came in March 2020, we took our company online and taught SEL virtually and were asked to add tutoring to our business.

We went from a pilot of 25 students a week to 500 scholars a week within a year, and over the years, we have continued to scale. We are now teaching over 2000 students a week between SEL and our tutoring programs. Last July, SYDKIMYL was 1 of 10 recipients of Beyoncé Knowles’ BEYGOOD Foundation grants, which has allowed us to add more virtual counseling programming.

I am grateful and excited to celebrate 5 years of SYDKIMYL this fall – my story is truly an example of faith and believing in myself. I tell people all the time if I can start a business, anyone can!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, the road has not always been smooth, but worth it! Some of the struggles for small businesses include funding. It’s important to continue to look for grants. Remember, that’s money that you don’t have to pay back! Another struggle for me has been hiring.

Since COVID, it has been hard to find people who want to work “in person.” Everyone is still looking for a virtual position.

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As the CEO, I am proud to say I do not believe in micromanaging. I allow my managers to work as independently and responsibly as possible and as long as the job is getting done.

I have been micromanaged before, and it is not a good feeling. If you have employees that you trust and that are capable of getting the work accomplished, they don’t need to be micromanaged anyway. To me, that breeds an uncomfortable and less friendly work environment.

I am most proud of the impact that SYDKIMYL is making in the community and at our schools with the scholars. When we see the outcomes and how SEL has positively made a difference, that’s what makes us smile. Also, the testimonials that we receive about our programs from parents and scholars are priceless and make me so proud!

What sets me apart from others is that I am REAL. What you see is what you get- I am not putting on any airs, and I believe in building a great work culture with my staff because I know that it makes a difference… a positive difference!

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I believe the most important quality or characteristic important to my success is adaptability.

In a constantly changing world, I feel as though being able to adjust quickly to new technologies and new strategies and being open-minded and flexible will keep me learning in every situation possible. I will need to continue to stay ahead of the curve, always learning yet always being willing to improve.

Pricing:

• $15 Let’s Talk Social Emotional Learning.
• $15 Let’s Talk SEL Interactive Journal.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sydkimyl.com
• Instagram: @sydkimyl
• Facebook: SydKimyl Educational Consulting
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-mcgregor-m-s-95b433194/