Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kimberly McGregor. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kimberly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I came up with this idea because teaching SEL was not happening in my school building or many other CMS schools due to the school counselor ratio. I was one school counselor responsible for 725 scholars in my building. The state recommends that school counselor have a case load of 250. With 725 when is there time to teach Social Emotional Learning classes when you have to hold 504 meetings, facilitate parent teacher conferences, decide which students need School Based Mental Health Services, Coordinate the KinderMourn Grief Counseling Group, be off campus for mandatory off site meetings at least twice monthly for district meetings, run the school when the principal and assistant principal are off campus, etc. My scholars were not getting from me what they deserved which was small group, large group, classroom sel lessons on social skills, and all things SEL so in 2019 I left my job as a school counselor and started SYDKIMYL. A small business made up of school counselors, retired teachers and educators that go into schools and teach lessons on social awareness, self-awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making and self-management. Why would this work? Because the school counselors have so much on their plate they do not have time to teach SEL and when they do most of the times its during advisory for maybe 15 minutes in the morning or in the afternoon and that ‘s not enough time. We are teaching an entire lesson on a topic for one full hour. Our lessons are engaging and they include activities such as role playing or an age appropriate activities. We teach scholars ages K-12. In my mind as I was creating this business and marketing plan we would be helping to solve a problem within the schools and with counselors on staff we could help recognize troubled scholars and talk to them when and if necessary about their problem or report it to the necessary staff at their school. We are often an extra support. SYDKIMYL is allowed to come into schools and teach “SEL” as an elective class, very unique, we are excited for this opportunity !

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Kimberly McGregor, and I have a Master’s in Counselor Education from N.C. A&T State University. I have worked as a School Counselor since 1999 within all grade bands K-12 during my career. I started SYDKIMYL Educational Consulting, LLC in 2019. I have written two books, “Let’s Talk” Social Emotional Learning, along with a workbook. Our staff at SYDKIMYL is very diverse, we have retired school teachers, recent college graduates, students in school currently obtaining Master’s degrees, and school counselors. We started out with a pilot of 25 scholars a week and have grown to teaching over 2,000 scholars a week. Being able to expose 2,000 scholars to SEL that otherwise would not receive these services definitely gets me excited. Thanks to funding from Mecklenburg County, SYDKIMYL is able to make a difference in the lives of these scholars. We were awarded the Beyonce “BEYGOOD” grant this summer and are always looking for other funding sources for our program! I am often asked what SYDKIMYL means, SYDNEY is my daughter I am KIM and MYLES is my son- the name is our 3 names combined, this is a family business and yes they work for the company, too!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I got my first big contract with Mecklenburg County in late January, 2020. We were teaching SEL in person, everything was going smoothly and then COVID came. I didn’t know if my contract would end or not because I was not sure if they still needed us. I received a call saying that they were taking everything online and they still needed my services, asking if I would be able to teach their scholars online? My team and I were forced to think out of the box, which meant creating an online SEL curriculum for ZOOM and TEAMS. My SEL Director and I started writing SEL curriculums/scripts and hired a videographer–we have been taping our own curriculum ever since and have a library of 3 years worth today! As scary as it seemed then it was the best thing for us and the business. That pivot and that place of us being uncomfortable made us grow and stretched us in so many positive ways. Also, during COVID, the county asked us to add academic tutoring to our services. I was never a teacher so I did not have teaching experience , but, I used to work with teachers and now they were at home, and were happy to make extra money tutoring so now, SYDKIMYL birthed the tutoring arm of the business and I was able to hire college aged tutors as well from HBCU’s being that I am a product of one and give them a job. I contacted my alma mater- NC A&T, JCSU in Charlotte, and Hampton University, where my daughter and nephew attended at the time.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Building relationships is so important in life period but especially in business. Sending cards, notes and even quick text messages to keep in touch throughout the year is important, but especially at the holidays. If SYDKIMYL is having a special event I make sure to invite our previous sponsors or supporters to let them know that they are thought about and appreciated!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sydkimyl.com
• Instagram: sydkimyl
• Facebook: Kim McGregor
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-mcgregor-m-s-95b433194/

Image Credits
alexusbphoto- IG