This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
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Hey there, Side Hustle School listeners. This is Chris Guillebeau. Coming to you from the road, I've been in Salt Lake City, Austin, Texas, and then today, Dallas, Texas. At least if you're listening in real time, if you're listening later, well, I'm probably somewhere else. Got a great story for you today, and it features what I call the third way, or the third option, or the alternative.
And you can find this third way, or option, or alternative in all kinds of things in life. It doesn't only apply to side hustling. And this option comes up, or at least it's something you should look for, whenever you encounter a situation in which you have to make a choice between two undesirable alternatives. I think it's always smart to ask, is there another way? Now, today's story is about how three teachers create a summer camp for nerds, and then create an organization to get paid for it.
Now, that last part is critical, because not only is this about identity and teachers serving kids, getting creative to make something fun, they also encountered one of those undesirable choices, but they found a way to avoid turning over the profits to the school system, because it was their idea and they did all the work. But they had to find that alternative to make it profitable for them. We have lots of teachers out there listening. If you're a teacher, thanks for all you do. If you know a teacher, maybe send them to this episode so that they can hear it for themselves.
And that story is coming right up. [Music]
Today's story comes from Cindy O. Kane in Linwood, New Jersey. By day, she's a middle school public speaking and technology teacher. She's also a first Lego league robotics coach, and head of her school's gifted and talented program.
Her side hustle, what we'll hear about today, is a summer science camp that she runs with two other teachers. Cindy and her colleagues saw an opportunity to fill a need for kids who aren't into sports, but do wanna go to summer camp. So two summers ago, they started a two week STEAM camp, and STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, art, and math, for the intellectual child, or as they like to refer to themselves, the nerds of the world. They had about 70 kids sign up, and they spent the weeks making STEAM, playing with Lego robots, building bridges out of popsicle sticks, launching rockets, and making videos. The camp brought in $14,000 that first year, but sadly, Cindy and her partners in STEAM were not their own entity.
So because of the local regulations, their school took the profits, and all they got was a small stipend. To get a different outcome for the second summer, they spent part of the school year becoming an LLC, which wasn't that hard. They filled out an online registration and paid $200. They called themselves the Amazinators, and created their own website and Facebook page. For that second year, they enlisted the help of a local reporter to do a special interest story, and they also advertised their event for free in their local papers community event section, which led to a bunch of signups.
Cindy says the self-promotion was scary and uncomfortable at first, but she found that people were receptive, and that made it a lot easier. Let this be a lesson to someone out there, by the way. When you have something to offer that you're proud of, and you know the people it's gonna serve well, don't be afraid to promote. For summer number two, the Amazinators put together two camps. They charged $225 for a two-week camp for third to sixth graders, and $125 for a one-week camp for seventh to ninth graders.
They spent about $2,000 on supplies, like Lego robotics and video cameras. They've actually found that kids tend to prefer low-tech, messy activities to those requiring expensive equipment. This past year, they had 166 campers and brought in about $15,000. $8,000 of that 15,000 was profit, and this time, they got to keep it. The Amazinators are now doing after-school programs at one of the schools a few times a month, where they focus on one fun steam activity.
Recently, they made DIY fidget spinners. For Halloween, which is coming up soon, they're making, well, more slime. I guess slime is always a good call. Their enthusiasm rubs off on the kids. It also gives the kids an opportunity to find friends with the same interest and to share ideas and build things together.
Interestingly, none of the three Amazinators are science teachers, so they have to do a bunch of research and test everything ahead of time. Once, Cindy enlisted her husband to help her make some rockets with a water bottle, baking soda, and vinegar, but the rocket exploded and plastic pieces went everywhere. After that, she decided she would stay away from chemistry. Going forward, these three teachers are hoping to expand to a few more schools in their area next year while continuing to research the newest, most exciting, yet safe activities for their campers. They're also looking at registering as a woman-run business, which may allow them to qualify for more opportunities.
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So in this situation, first of all, I'm not 100% sure why they couldn't keep the money without being an entity. I assume it has something to do with those local rules and regulations. That kind of bureaucracy can get complicated. Regardless of the reason, they could have just accepted that and either not done the program again or do it again for free. But as you heard, they looked for a third option.
And that third option allowed them to keep $8,000 in profits just the second time they ran a camp. Obviously, running a camp is a lot of hard work. I'm not suggesting it's easy at all, but this is something they believe in and they're committed to regardless of the financial outcome. So the fact that they were able to create a structure in which the profits could go to them is almost a nice bonus. And of course, it's an $8,000 bonus.
It might be split three ways or however they divvy it up, but it sounds like they'll have plenty of opportunities to do this again. The philosophy of Side Hustle School is to find ways to get paid for something you'd like to do. So that's why I love how they essentially leveled up their project by creating the LLC. And by the way, if you're curious, creating an LLC is not difficult. It usually costs a couple of hundred dollars and can be done online without a lawyer in most cases.
Your situation may be different or unique, but for a lot of us, it's really simple. I hope you enjoyed this episode. It was number 299. Number 300 is coming up tomorrow. As always, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is better.
And today's show notes are online at sidehustleschool.com/299. Wherever you are in the world today, I hope you're doing something to work toward creating more freedom, which is of course what a side hustle is all about. You create the freedom so that you have options to do what's best for you. Thank you for listening. I'll be back tomorrow.
I'm Chris Guillebeau for Side Hustle School. [Music]
