The Sleepaway Camp Businessman

Read time: 5 minutes

Welcome to The Ascend Archives, a weekly newsletter where I share a story about a transformation, revelation, or change in thinking that has helped improve an aspect of my life.

“Andrew, where did this money come from?”

I shrug my shoulders, “I don’t know, I just got it”

“Did you steal it?”

“No! My friends gave it to me”

My mom looked at her 11 year old son and couldn’t figure out how he managed to come home from a 3 week sleepaway camp with close to $100 in cash.

—

Iroquois Springs Summer Camp was paradise for an 11 year old kid. Tucked away in the Catskill Mountains in New York, hundreds of kids would flock there every summer to live their best lives: days were full of basketball, archery, kayaking and more, while every night was a sleepover with 10 of your best friends.

Sleepaway camp is like an all inclusive resort for kids. Once you show up, everything is taken care of. We went to the dining hall for 3 meals a day. On special nights we got to go to the canteen to pick one soda and one piece of candy. The activities were endless and all we had to do was sign up for what we wanted to do that day. Unlimited fun from the moment we arrived and definitely no need for any money while we were there.

So my mom couldn’t understand how she sent her kid to camp with no money and he came home with $100.

While we didn’t need money while we were at camp, there were a few special days where we did. Each year, we’d go on a few “field trips”. The counselors would load all of us kids on buses and we’d go to the local movie theatre to see Bat Man or spend the day at a water park. For each trip, each of us campers would get $15-$20 to spend on whatever we wanted. Popcorn, candy, funnel cake, the options were endless. Just like the per-diam that management consultants get from their companies when they travel for business. We got a certain amount of money to spend and we could do with it what we wanted.

This is where we’d find out about different kids’ mentalities.

The most common group were the indulgers. They took their money and went straight to get dip n dots, a hot dog and gifts from the souvenir shop. Then there was a smaller group that just bought what they needed: some popcorn and maybe a soda at the movies, but didn’t feel the need to spend every last dollar.

Then there was me.

I didn’t care much about popcorn, soda, or key chains at the souvenir shop. That summer, I had my eyes on something bigger: the newest edition of Madden NFL Football on PlayStation . So instead of splurging on candy, I would pocket the money they gave us and only spend a small amount on food if I really needed it.

This was a good start towards my goal, but my own ~$25 stipend wasn’t enough to buy Madden, so I had to figure out a way to get more…

—

Another fun part of sleep away camp was opening letters and packages from family members. Phones, laptops, and other electronics were all not allowed in camp. Our only form of communication with the outside world was 2 phone calls with our parents per summer and unlimited letters to friends and family. I’d get letters from my parents, aunts and uncles wishing me the best summer and checking in to see if I was having fun.

But what I remember most were the packages. Shoe boxes filled with baseball cards, fidget spinners, candy, and other small games to keep us busy during our downtime at camp. While I appreciated my parents, aunts, and uncles sending me this stuff, I also saw it as an opportunity.

On nights where the counselors were outside on the porch and not keeping tabs on us in the bunk, I would whip out my supply of baseball cards and best candy bars and start talking with the guys who had money left over from movie night. The negotiating would begin: $2 for this Ken Griffey Jr card, $1 for that Kit Kat bar, and another $1 for that slinky.

I was happy to trade these things in exchange for cash to save up for the thing I wanted even more.

By the end of the summer, kids with extra money from our field trips knew they could come to me for cool stuff. Eventually, I racked up enough money to buy 2 new video games.

—

My mom kept questioning me until I revealed the details of my baseball card selling business.

While she was a little in shock that her son was profiting from her gifts, my parents admired my creativity and joked that they had an entrepreneur in the making.

17 years later, I guess it turns out their inclination was right.

Final Thoughts

Most entrepreneurs have stories from growing up that show signs of future business interest. Maybe they mowed lawns or shoveled snow. They would go door to door making sales until eventually they got too many houses to do all alone so then they hire their friends to do the work while they continue to sell.

I never really built a business like that.

But as I thought back to my childhood, there are small stories like this one that reveal various skills or traits I had that are incredibly important for entrepreneurs. This one in particular showcased my delayed gratification. The future PlayStation game was more valuable to me than the candy and gifts in the moment. I was willing to forgo short term benefits for a long term gain.

Being able to analyze a situation, take advantage of what options I have, and figure out a way to get what I want is a powerful skill that I continue to use to this day.

Thanks mom for not getting mad and still allowing me to buy those videogames.

Thank you for reading! As always please reply and let me know what resonated, what didn’t, or what you question. I love chatting about this stuff!

Cheers,

Andrew