Liv Schreiber, 28, was a caller assemblage postgraduate moving successful New York City, building businesses and a social media following, erstwhile she noticed that a batch of contented successful her orbit centered connected "keeping up pinch the Joneses" and summers spent pinch "slick-back buns" successful the Hamptons. "I was like, You know, I really conscionable wish I could jump successful the reservoir and deterioration nary constitution and spell backmost to sleepaway camp," Schreiber tells Entrepreneur.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Camp Social. Liv Schreiber.
Schreiber was well-positioned to bring her thought to life. In 2019, she launched Brand Caffeine, a digital marketing agency, and successful 2022, she founded Hot and Social, a societal organization that hosts meet-up events wherever group successful their 20s and 30s tin make caller friends.
Related: How to Cultivate Genuine Friendships successful a Digital Age
The two-time laminitis already knew really to harness the powerfulness of branding and societal media to forge in-real-life connections, and successful May 2023, she was wished to use that expertise to Camp Social. Schreiber's first campy took spot conscionable a fewer months later, successful August, pinch 150 women successful attendance.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Camp Social
Since then, Camp Social has only grown successful popularity. The upcoming camp, which costs $880 per summons and will beryllium held August 22-24, sold retired successful 24 hours. Camp Social has besides expanded to connection 2 camps per twelvemonth alternatively of one; the first autumn play will beryllium September 26-28.
" I americium patient successful my belief that this is what everyone's going to beryllium doing successful a fewer years."
Schreiber has conscionable 1 norm for Camp Social's campers: Everyone comes solo and leaves arsenic friends. "It's a luncheon array wherever everyone is invited to sit," she says.
Camp Social hosts women ages 21 and older (the oldest camper truthful acold was 65) and bunks them by age. However, inter-generational friendships are besides common, arsenic campers meet caller friends based connected the activities they take passim the weekend, Schreiber says.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Camp Social
The costs of a summons to Camp Social covers the weekend's expenses, from the autobus thrust from New York City to the Pocononos — an "iconic" commencement during which group are "singing, dancing and gathering each other," Schreiber says — to the extended database of instructor-led activities, from boating to archery, yoga, candle-making and more, and branded goodie bags, which see a assortment of merchandise.
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"I like to dainty it for illustration an influencer marque travel for the consumer," Schreiber says. " I americium patient successful my belief that this is what everyone's going to beryllium doing successful a fewer years. I've been shouting into a achromatic hole, trying to [get] brands to understand that influencers aren't buying their products — consumers are."
Schreiber stresses that Camp Social only features products that she really believes successful and has turned down those that aren't the correct fit. Some of Camp Social's sponsors see Dunkin', fast-casual edifice concatenation Dig Inn and nonalcoholic vino marque Fre.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Camp Social
Schreiber is ever connected the lookout for caller offerings successful work of what she calls "the astir important" portion of Camp Social: Facilitating organization and caller friendships. "We tin connection everything and immoderate marque successful the world, but astatine the extremity of the day, it's astir the relationships," Schreiber says.
Related: How to Build a Thriving Community That Will Skyrocket Your Business
"People request to cognize [that] relationship is truthful important. Offline."
"Community" is the caller buzzword for galore brands building a beingness online — and Schreiber has mixed feelings astir it. "It makes maine some happy and sad because sometimes group spell into it pinch the incorrect intentions aliases the volition of creating thing conscionable to sell," she says.
These days, it's authenticity and storytelling that make group and brands guidelines out, according to Schreiber.
On her ain societal media accounts, Schreiber notices that the videos that execute the champion are those successful which she delves into the "why" down her starting Camp Social — and the real-life connections formed. Several friends she met astatine Camp Social attended her caller wedding. One of them gave a speech; different signed the ketubah.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Camp Social
Related: 6 Ways Your Company Will Benefit From Better Community Involvement
In an era erstwhile galore Americans struggle to cultivate meaningful relationships much than ever earlier — 21% of U.S. adults consciousness lonely, and 73% property it to technology, according to a caller study from Harvard Graduate School of Education — in-person connection remains Schreiber's superior goal.
"There's a immense marque communicative that we tin show here," Schreiber says, "but the main point that group request to cognize is that relationship is truthful important. Offline. We request to utilize societal media arsenic a instrumentality to beryllium societal and tackle the loneliness epidemic."
This article is portion of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® bid highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of moving a business arsenic a woman.
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