“How long have they been fishing with you?” he hollered. We walked a lot, road bikes, explored the island, spent loads of time on the beach. They discovered routines that suited each of them. The boys found their own avenues of enjoyment. We took a vacation the way it’s supposed to be. No Little League games, no school, no work or business calls. I think we all sunk in and relaxed in a way that we hadn’t for a long time. Having that kind of space and such comforts changes things. And it was immediately clear that this house, with a huge kitchen and bedrooms to spare, with its endless decks and terraces, would be the feature of the week. This year, when we raised the garage door of our new beach home for the week, the boys flew up four flights of stairs. Wishing too hard for a perfect repeat might get in the way of enjoying the new moments - the unexpected things.
The sequel to last summer, I assured them, would host its own wonders. That’s what I told the boys as we prepared for this year’s family beach vacation. That’s an incredibly demanding sport, physically and mentally.Follow-ups are tough. He’s also a Staples High School wrestler. Yet as impressive as this is, it’s not all that Aiden does.
During the school year, it’s 2 to 3 hours. He’s spent 6 to 7 hours a day at his business this summer. He’s sold 312 lights this year, up substantially from 219 in 2021. He’s donated Cloudlights for charitable raffles, and is looking for more local organizations to partner with.Īiden’s numbers are impressive. Last year, he donated $500 to combat climate change - a gift that was tripled by the Climate Reality Project. But he’s as philanthropic-minded as he is creative. In addition to his usual holiday sales, Aiden will make plenty of money at the fair. That’s a big deal: It’s the longest running event of its kind in Connecticut, and extremely tough to break into. Aiden has just been accepted into the Westport Young Woman’s League’s indoor craft fair (November 5-6, at Staples High). “As a 16-year-old, I struggled to learn tax and legal stuff,” he notes. Other lessons came through the process of incorporating (via LegalZoom) with the state of Connecticut. Now though, his average rating is 4.9 stars (out of 5) - with over 100 reviews. Not that customers know they’re dealing with a high school student.Īn early review said, “it looks like a teenager made this.” Aiden laughs, “Well, yeah, I’m a kid in my parents’ basement making it.” Now, he seals each box with custom tape, bearing his logo.Īiden Schachter heads to the post office.Īiden’s lessons included customer service.
He invested in a label printer, which helped a lot. After making what he calls Stormclouds, he has to package and ship them.Īiden moved from using old Amazon boxes to ordering cardboard boxes in bulk. The rising Staples High School junior handles every aspect of his business. “I’m a big fan of 2-day shipping,” Aiden says. He uses recycled tin cans (sourced on the Nextdoor neighborhood app), attached with spray adhesives.Įverything except the cans comes from his Amazon business account.
Each LED cloud light takes 20 to 40 minutes to make each is made to oder. With a wide price range - $60 to $180 - appealing to a wide range of customer, his product took off.Īiden works hard. The 2020 holidays were a breakout period: 123 orders. He was selling enough to make serious money.
He’s taken 2 courses at Staples, to hone his skills.Īiden’s mother taught him how to use spreadsheets, to pay taxes. Screen shot of Aiden Schachter’s Etsy StormcloudLEDs page.Īiden learned photographic techniques too.