Meet Kaitlyn McColez

We recently connected with Kaitlyn McColez and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaitlyn , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

I think one thing that helped me develop my confidence and self-esteem as a baker stems from my childhood. Growing up, two of my great aunt’s, Jackie and Frances, baby sat me and my older sister; while we were there we would spend the time standing on chairs or step stools to reach the table tops helping them make cookies, pies, you name it.
From there on out, baking has been a core memory and second nature to me.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m a small, home baker who started Fatty K’s not long after covid took over the world. I was at home, bored, and needed something to do.
I started baking small batches of chocolate chip cookies and handing them out to friends and family and someone mentioned that “I needed to sell them because they were sooo good”. So I tried just that!
I started posting fresh batches of cookies on my social media and it went well. I had two hit flavors at the beginning, chocolate chip, and stuffed Reese’s, and a handful of customers(which I adored).
Fast forward to now, I have a menu that changes monthly, a steady following of customers, and I’ve recently been able to stock my cookies in a local store called the Engraved Hive! Talk about mind blowing!
From the very beginning to now I’ve been blessed by spreading the word of Fatty K’s by doing events and markets here in Quincy and a few other towns.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

One thing that was important for the success I’ve had so far would be the fact I was able to take and accept constructive criticism. People are always going to have feedback, good and bad. But taking the bad feedback and figuring out how to improve has been so helpful.
Another area that’s so important is time management. That’s one skill I absolutely had to work on myself.
Lastly, customer service! Working with the public at markets you encounter so many people and it’s important to have great interactions with them all, thankfully I can be quite the chatter box.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

The person who has been the most helpful would have to be awarded to my sister, Paige. I would not be as successful as I am currently without all her support and encouragement. She’s definitely been through the ringer with me, calmed me down when I got overwhelmed with market prep and big orders. She makes the cake pops for Fatty K’s, prints off all my labels, and bought me my kitchen mixer(I’d probably still be using a bowl and wooden spoon).
I have no idea what I’d do without her support and help through this journey.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: fatty_ks_baking
• Facebook: Fatty K’s

Image Credits

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