Meet Kelly Fitzpatrick

We recently connected with Kelly Fitzpatrick and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelly, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?

My ability to take risk has ebbed and flowed over the years as different opportunities and life experiences have shaped circumstances. There are ways in which I took great risk in my younger days that I wouldn’t dream of now, and ways in which I take risk now that I never would have thought possible. Ultimately, I love to grow and to learn. Staying stagnant gives me anxiety! And movement in any direction carries inherent risk. It often feels easier to cope with the status quo, but I have never regretted a risk I have taken. In one way or another, it has helped lead me to where I am today. And since I am so happy personally and professionally in this part of my life, I can look back gratefully on the paths that led me here.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Macaroni KID is a national brand with hyper-local individually owned editions. We do thorough research in our communities to connect families with local businesses and the special features of our neighborhoods. We share events, activities, and resources to lighten the load on families and help them to easily find what they need.

My background is in school administration. I was an elementary school principal in the Bronx, NY from pre- to post- pandemic and my specialty became building community, particularly during more challenging times. When I had my second baby, a career shift was necessary as I could not lovingly parent both my school and my family to the degree that I would be happy with. I stumbled upon Macaroni KID while doing ed consulting and it was a lightbulb moment. In e-publishing the local editions I was able to leverage my love of research, community-building, and writing into a flexible and deeply rewarding career. Hearing the story behind a small business, providing a name or a network for a family, and exploring the amazing attractions of Westchester County is simply joyful. Being able to integrate my family life into this career shift is a gift I am deeply grateful for.

After two years of publishing the Armonk – Chappaqua – Mount Kisco – Pleasantville site, an additional opportunity in my area became available and I’ve just recently doubled my reach by adopting the Northern Westchester site. This allows be to better serve families and businesses.

In addition to sharing news and promoting the small business economy, I use my education and organizing background to plan small- and large-scale events, many of them with the benefit of serving as fundraisers for non-profits. After coordinating Kids’ Zones for many local towns and events, this fall I am co-organizing a sensory friendly children’s music festival. Planning inclusive and accessible experiences that benefit all children in our community is something I am deeply excited about. Our tagline is “Find your family fun,” and I make it my mission to cultivate experiences that will become “Remember when…” stories for families.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

In thinking about qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that may hold the most impact in my journey, it feels easy to say experience, or problem-solving, something of that nature. In my heart of hearts though, I believe that what is most important about my journey and that of any entrepreneur, leader, or business owner at any scale are these key pieces of advice I have received over the years:

-Relationships over everything: When business owners are starting out, the end goal may need to be the dollar. If you can play the long game, however, thinking beyond a sale and about an on-going relationship can pay dividends. When I meet with potential partners, I think about the best ways we can collaborate. Sometimes that’s sharing a resource or networking together. Other times barter opportunities can be a win. I invest equal time, if not more time into smaller scale operations, into all businesses I work with no matter what the spend may be. Over time, smaller initial investments have turned into projects beyond what I could have imagined.

-Assume best intentions: We are all human, and I can safely say there are times I need to check myself before I take something personally. But as I’ve got older, this happens with less and less frequency. When I use what I learned in the classroom as a teacher or when working with parents as an administrator, that everyone is doing the best they can with the skills they have I can view the world through gentle eyes. This viewpoint not only gives grace to others, but keeps my focus on the positive as well.

-Feedback is a gift: When you’ve poured your limited time, energy, and resources into something and there’s a critical comment, it can sting. In my line of work a parent may disagree with my recommendation of a spot to visit, or a business may have hoped for a greater return. And it’s funny how we operate as people, we can receive 99 positive pieces of information and one word to the opposite can stick in our brains for weeks to come. I look at this in two ways. One, feedback is a gift and it’s up to you to keep it or not. It’s often possible you have a broader perspective and there’s a valid reason for the outcome or experience. Two, being honest takes courage. If a client or customer is willing to offer up something that you can do better to improve your service, put your ego aside and thank them! We need other eyes to help us to grow.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

An obstacle I repeatedly run up against is time as a finite resource and living up to the, usually unattainable, expectations we set for ourselves. When we are passionate about the work that we do, it can become all consuming. Our businesses are like our babies. While there are countless “hacks” for time management, I haven’t figured out how to add more hours into a day or days into a week to do all the things I hope to do for everyone and everything.

After becoming a parent, and then taking on a small business that continued to grow as my family did, I make more mistakes than ever before. I fall short in ways my 20s self would never have dreamed of. But, I learn from it every day. And I adjust my expectations of myself every day. And I laugh about it, too. What I can control is my mindset, and looking at the items on my to-do lists as “get-tos” instead of “have-tos.” Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I can choose to look through the lens of abundance. It’s not a perfect science, but it is the internal work I’m doing these days.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chappaqua.macaronikid.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/mackidchappaqua
• Yelp: https://instagram.com/mackidchappaqua