5 Minutes With Local Macaroni Kid Publisher Dr. Ellen DeFrancesco

Meet Dr. Ellen DeFrancesco, an Oceanside resident, mother of two and publisher of Macaroni Kid Long Beach-Oceanside-Rockville Centre.

Patch recently spoke to DeFrancesco about her local business:

Patch: Tell us about your business:

DeFrancesco: I am the Publisher of Macaroni Kid Long Beach-Oceanside-Rockville Centre which is a free weekly e-newsletter and website focused on fun family events and information in 9 towns on the South Shore of Long Island. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week, add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, book and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more. We proudly serve families in Long Beach, Oceanside, Rockville Centre, Island Park, Lido Beach, Lynbrook, East Rockaway, Baldwin and Freeport!

Patch: How did you get your first start in business?

DeFrancesco: Macaroni Kid is a national organization with over 500 editions across the country. When I first moved to Oceanside in August 2010, I didn't have any friends in the neighborhood and was not familiar with any activities to keep my kids entertained and stimulated. My friend who I taught in NYC was the publisher of Macaroni Kid Riverdale so I was a subscriber to her newsletter. She suggested a great way to meet new people and become entrenched in my community was to start a Macaroni Kid edition in my town. We didn't have one at the time so I created one from the ground up.

Patch: Is this your first business venture? What other projects have you worked on?

DeFrancesco: Before Macaroni Kid, I was an ESL teacher in New York City and I have a doctoral degree in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. When I became a stay-at-home mom I was constantly searching for things to do with my kids. I was the mom who would spend hours tracking down children's activities, so now I still do it for myself but also for thousands of other local moms. I am also on the Resource Development Committee of Bethany House, a local women's and children's shelter, and I'm the Vice President of the Friends of Rock Hall Museum.

Patch: What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?

DeFrancesco: Macaroni Kid is a marathon, not a race. I have to get my own sponsors, create relationships with businesses in my community, work at events to try to gain subscribers, keep my eyes and ears open all the time for local events, and create new article features that highlight my devotion to volunteer work in the community and ways to include children.

Patch: How long have you lived or done business here?

DeFrancesco: I've been publishing Macaroni Kid since October 2010. I've lived in Oceanside since August 2010.

Patch: What’s your favorite part about being a business in the area? What makes the area special?

DeFrancesco: I love writing and publishing Macaroni Kid. As a mom I love to find events, activities, businesses in our area that can help create "experiences" for my children and my family. I love helping other moms create those same opportunities for their children. Macaroni Kid has made me a better mom. I found activities that I never knew existed and being able to experience and create memories for me and my children has been priceless. There is so much to do in our area and I feel Macaroni Kid highlights all our town events so that parents can get out there and "be in the moment" with them. Instead of kids sitting around watching TV or on electronic devices, I love finding events where the community can get together and enjoy each other. As a Hurricane Sandy victim in Oceanside my immediate block joined together and we got through it by helping each other. Now, we are a tightly-knit community within the community who treat each other like family. My goal is to unite other families and other communities by offering them activities that they can participate in together.

Patch: Did anyone influence you as a business owner? How?

DeFrancesco: Michelle Kelly of Earth Arts of Long Beach was my first sponsor of my e-newsletter/website. I watched as she used her business and standing in the community of Long Beach to create events (such as the Empty Bowls Project) to help local Long Beach residents who needed a little extra assistance. Watching her I vowed to use Macaroni Kid to help our community. Every week I have an article on the specific local ways to engage your kids to help their community though volunteering. I feel getting children involved in their community is just as important as teaching them to read and write. I publish many articles highlighting organizations that help others as well as various "drives". I've collected coats and scarves for local homeless children, holiday gifts for families who cannot afford them, new school supplies for local kids in need and used books to help stock LI school libraries, just to name a few.

Patch: Did you ever make a business mistake and later on were glad you made it?

DeFrancesco: I've learned, unfortunately, that the saying "business is business" really holds true. I had an experience early on in my Macaroni Kid career where I ran a new sponsor's add before she paid me. The business owner was an acquaintance so when she said the equivalent of "the check is in the mail", I believed her. As it turned out she never ended up paying me and eventually I was forced to take the advertisement down. It was a good lesson to learn. Friends are friends, but business is business. My rule is to never provide the product until I receive the payment

Patch: Tell us something about yourself that people may not know.

DeFrancesco: Before getting married and starting this chapter of my life I was the Director of Standards and Practice for USA Networks. Basically my job was to watch movies all day long.

Patch: What advice would you give to a business owner just starting out?

DeFrancesco: Follow your passion. When you love what you do, it's not a job, it's a calling.

Photos courtesy of Ellen DeFrancesco