The Pivot
After twenty years of running a tech consultancy in communication and collaboration, I decided it’s time to pivot. This wouldn’t be my first time “pivoting.” Before getting hooked on technology, I was a key driver in five healthcare startups. “And now for something altogether completely different,” Just because it’s a livelihood doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. No, I didn’t join Monty Python’s Flying Circus, although I did work a short stint with a think tank/distributor of John Cleese corporate training materials.
This new adventure would start with purchasing several acres of land in an idyllic setting in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. A good friend of mine had begun clearing land and putting in a driveway. We soon got to talking about the possibility of putting up campsites for short-term rentals. Here is where my entrepreneurial start-up wheels started turning. What if we built a spectacular structure expressly designed for camping in the harsh northeast winters? Not “Glamping,” we both thought that term has too many “fairy lights” and pillows. But the idea of getting out of the dirt and into a convenient, sturdy, comfortable camping environment did spark our interest.
It’s one thing to have the support of a spouse when doing your entrepreneurial thing. It’s altogether completely different when she is on the board of directors. More on that later. After testing the idea with friends and family, many of whom thought I was losing my mind. “Your almost 70, and you want to go into the woods and clear roads and build things?
My not so young soon to be partner assured me, “That’s why god made heavy equipment,”
So! Yeah, break out the chain saws fire up the back-hoe. I’m pivoting!
After 20 years of pushing a mouse and keyboard, it quickly became apparent just how out of shape I had become. Four months in, I am in better shape, and our first of six clean camping “Canvas Cabins” is almost ready for campers. What is a canvas cabin, you ask? Imagine a pavilion but raised up off the ground out of the dirt. And now put a heavy-duty galvanized steel roof over the top. Finally, stick a very, very large wall tent filled with all the creature comforts that make life in a natural setting enjoyable: porch heater, propane grill, sanitary facilities, clean drinking water, comfortable furniture. Yep, here are some pictures. www.berkshirecleancamping.com
