The CampHacker Podcast

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/12/be-a-better-delegator Who’s the best delegator you’ve ever met? The working title of this episode is “delegate like your life depends on it”. A bit dramatic? Yes. Kind of true? Also yes! If you can’t delegate - if everything at camp needs to run by you before it happens - if yo...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/11/do-this-right-now Don’t just make it survivable, make it AWESOME. We’re releasing this podcast at the time where the previous summer is still “going” and next summer isn’t quite “coming” yet. However, if you haven’t run since 2019, the summer of 2022 feels like it’s coming fast...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/11/these-are-the-staff-you-need No more warm-body syndrome. Hire great staff and make it work with the number you have. This isn’t the first Go Camp Pro Podcast about staffing, and it certainly won’t be the last. This year all of our shows are going to cover many topics on staffin...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/10/what-to-do-about-it Part 2 of our conversation about the big changes needed in the Camp World. To listen to part 1: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/10/future-of-camp-pt-1   Last episode, we gave a laundry list of what’s NOT going well in the industry.  Here, we shake off the...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/10/future-of-camp-pt-1 Yes - S*it scared. As Ruby points out in this episode, the CampHacker team doesn’t shy away from saying the hard things. Episode 39 of the Podcast, recorded in 2012 talked all about why the camp industry was in peril. Switch those last two numbers and fast-f...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/09/camp-union How might (or might not) a union help serve Camp Pros as they navigate an increasingly stressful profession? At the end of August, a particularly thought-provoking post was made in the Summer Camp Professionals Facebook group. After hearing about some of the horror s...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/06/why-we-volunteer Over 16 hours of volunteer podcasting this year. Why do we do it? How can we encourage the next generation of camp pros to give back to the industry… There are SO many people that love and support the industry. From Podcast hosts, to speakers, to bloggers, to a...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/06/recruitment-begins-now Was staffing a pain for you this year? Let’s get ahead of this beast for next summer! The global pandemic has hit our industry hard in so many ways, but one of them that we didn’t really expect was how hesitant our youth and young adults who have traditio...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/05/summer-self-care Boundaries, sleep, and exercise - tools for camp pros that are just as important as duct tape and zip ties. This isn’t some fluffy episode where we tell you to take up meditation and manifest your stress away. Self-care for Camp Directors seems like an oxymoron...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/05/incentivizing-staff-beyond-the-paycheque Pay your staff more - AND - here are some other ways to appreciate and incentivize the camp experience. We should all be working to pay our staff more. Full stop. That being said, it may be impossible to pay staff for the sheer amount of...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/05/parent-perspective-pik-my-kid SPONSORED CONTENT - Thanks to PikMyKid for their support! Every single camp has its own way of managing pick-up and drop-off and the great camps put a lot of time and intention into both processes. Remember, those two times may be the only physical...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/04/memorable-moments It’s going to happen. Here’s how to fire with compassion and dignity. We, as camp pros are all about stories. Stories about moments where we know that kids lives were changed.  Where do those stories come from? There are so many intentional things that go into...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/04/fire-someone It’s going to happen. Here’s how to fire with compassion and dignity. This is another thing that’s just “part of the job”. Firing someone is especially hard in a place that’s so connected with people’s emotions. Often, when someone is fired at camp, it’s not usuall...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/04/all-at-once You know…when the chocolate pudding really hits the fan. We don’t wish it on you. But at some point in your camp career, it’s going to happen. Something will go wrong and you’ll say to yourself “crap, that’s not good”. Then you’ll get an urgent walkie call and you’l...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://gocamp.pro/day-camp-pod/you-can-do-it A Love Letter for Camps Considering Running in 2021 - from Go Camp Pro Review us on iTunes! If you’re able to run camp this summer, we want to make sure you know you can do it. This special Go Camp Pro Podcast is for camps out there who are on the fence about running th...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/03/stuck-and-unstuck Never ever ever ever ever ever say “We’ve always done it this way” again. How often do you feel stuck in a rut? Becuase of this year, because of the work, because of the stress, there are always reasons to get stuck, but being a true Camp Maverick means that y...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/03/camp-director-career This episode is a loving punch in the gut. As we’ve said before, it’s our job as camp directors to think about the big things. And sometimes, those big things aren’t popular, or happy-go-lucky things, but that doesn’t make them any less important! Our podca...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! CampHacker: Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/02/eye-of-eagle-2021 Our job is to look forward. But when you feel like you don’t have time, allow the CampHacker crew to help! Have you heard the expression “in uncharted waters?”. Of course, you have. Well, right now, in February 2021, we’re in the uncharted river pa...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find show notes and more at: https://www.camphacker.tv/podcast/2020/08/racism-in-recreation A repost of an important conversation around how to make the camp and recreation industries a more welcoming place for a wider range of people.  In this special summer bonus episode, Travis is joined by Dr. Daniel Theriault to discuss racism, power and privil...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/02/blm-at-camp A follow-up conversation with the organizers of the Black Lives Matter at Summer Camp Movement https://blacklivesmatteratcamp.com/ Summer camp is built on the idea of giving young people fuller lives through recreation, enrichment, and community. Our industry center...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! A special, timely interlude from our friends at the Day Camp Pod: Find full show notes and links at: https://gocamp.pro/day-camp-pod/ppp-era-aca Timely info for American Camps - Jan/Feb 2021 For many camps and small businesses in the United States, the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program was a lifesaver- enabling us to keep o...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/01/approachability There’s an incredible power dynamic at play when it comes to you and the rest of the staff, here’s how to address that head-on, with approachability! If your staff haven’t told you that you’re intimidating, then they just haven’t told you YET. Gabz, Joe and Trav...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find full show notes and links at:  https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2021/01/dont-be-that-boss You all know what kind of boss we’re talking about. Marcus Buckingham says it best - “ People leave managers , not companies ”. Do you want to keep your best staff members? Do you want to have a strong culture built on trust and empathy? Do you want your camp...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! It’s our annual “Tool of the Week” show! All tools, all the time! There are too many links to cram into these show-notes, so find them all at https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2020/12/all-tools-2020 New Tools Used In the last 4 months Travis:  3D Printed Mask Bracket RocketBook Orbit (and Cloud Cards) Joe:  Orient Your Screens To Be On Top of One Anothe...

Have some feedback? A topic suggestion? Text us! Find more at: https://camphacker.tv/podcast/2020/12/top-10-maintenance-skills Because you wear many hats as a Camp Pro - and one of them is often a hard-hat! As a Camp Pro, there will be a time when either you won’t have a maintenance team, or there will be too many things that need to be fixed. When that time comes, you can either pay for someone t...