Meet Kay Paschal

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kay Paschal. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kay below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Kay with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I’m not really sure! My mother was a stay-at-home mom, like most women in the 1960s and 70s, but I knew from a very early high school age that I wanted a career in business and even though I was a National Honor student, I did not want to go to college ~ which was not that unusual for girls my age in the late 1970s. My father was a salesman in the trucking industry and entertained customers a lot ~ always cash in his pocket, a company car(!) and a smile for everyone. I graduated from high school a semester early and went straight to work at a downtown Atlanta real estate development company in a high rise that this company had built and were leasing themselves. I was so star-struck to be a part of this new venture. Everyone coming in to lease in this beautiful building came through our office and got to know all of the staff as we helped them pick out and design their office space. I felt almost like a celebrity as I entered or walked through this building. Now, almost 50 years later, every time I’m in the downtown Atlanta area and see this building, I still feel that pride that this was my first job out in the real world at 18 years of age.

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

After being in the corporate world for almost 20 years, my husband and I decided to start a family business in conjunction with starting our family after 10 years of marriage ~ a preschool. Owning this business for 25 years that expanded into 2 preschool locations and rising to the height of prestige and success, we sold and retired in late 2018. After a year of traveling, buying a small beach residence to enjoy, and reconnecting with a lot of friends, I had to find something else to fulfill the purpose-driven aspect of my personality. I had been a monthly contributor for about 15 years while owning the preschools to numerous city-wide publications throughout Atlanta on parenting tips and trends as well as business practices, so I decided to take those short articles and expand them into chapters ~ I had a lot more to say on these topics! I included the practical advice and experience I had on these important subjects, but I shot in a dose of parenting reality by sharing how I didn’t always take the advice when parenting my two boys that I was giving to thousands of parents over 25 years. It provided a lot of giggles as I shared situational family stories around these parenting topics that parents could really identify with. We all know, most times, what is the right thing to do….it’s the actual “doing” that sometimes trips us up and I wanted to show parents that most times it still turns out okay. Parenting is not a perfect science and sometimes the love and memories that surround the mistakes can be the most rewarding part of your parenting journey for you and for your children as they grow into adults. I hope to have my second book published in the next few months that will focus more on “women” topics, not specific to moms. Like I did with my first book, expanding on articles I had written, my new book will be expanding on topics that I have tackled in short, 10-minute grabs from my podcast (Kay’s Gigglecast, Spotify) on these women-specific episodes. Easy to consume and to spark conversations, I really have enjoyed all the positive feedback I have received on these short podcasts. Another thing I have enjoyed is my speaking events. This year I have had the amazing opportunity to speak to over 500 women on a variety of topics.

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?

*Trust yourself to make mistakes. This is the best way to learn~practical experience. In the early years of our business, I was very honest with my customers, who were young parents just like myself, that I was new in this endeavor and that everything may not always be perfect, or maybe not even right, but they could trust me that I would recognize that quickly and chart another course. As I speak to large and small women groups and organizations, I always let them know that I am not a professional speaker, and I think the honesty of being “just like you” is easy to relate to.

**Giggle! Laughter works in so many situations. I learned very quickly to laugh at myself. Even 25 years later when I was considered very accomplished in the preschool business, I enjoyed the laughter that still came with learning something new or still making mistakes. People tend to connect more to you, your business, your brand if they know that you don’t take yourself so seriously and that you don’t think you have it all figured out. I am always learning!

***Be grateful. I never took my customers or my staff for granted. I worked just as hard the last day of owning our preschools as I did the first day. It was a different type of “work”, but it was just as important. Every day was a new day for me, and I always tried to instill that concept in my staff. We may have done a certain activity or event for the past several years, but it was NEW to someone, so it always had to be fresh and amazing for that reason.

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?

My husband, Steve, has had the most impact on any success that I have achieved. He, almost single-handedly, built our business and set me up for the success that it achieved. His strategies for the high standards that he set as he turned over this business into my hands to run, gave me the focus necessary to reach the success that the business acquired. He encouraged me to network, join industry organizations, supported when I submitted articles for publishing which turned into an almost business of its own for me, and always praised any achievement I reached while sharing in any mistakes made along the way.
When I decided to write a book, he was 100% behind that project and as I exhibit across the country at parenting conventions, he’s right there, as always, behind the scenes making those events a success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://insertgigglegiggle.com
• Instagram: insertgigglegiggle
• Other: Spotify Podcast ~ Kay’s Gigglecast