Mixing Business With Pleasure

In mid-June, my 3-year-old daughter Leigh started asking to go to the beach. When she kept asking for a couple of weeks, my wife and I knew it was time to make it happen.

Summer is a fleeting resource in the King of Pops world. But it’s just as fleeting for kids, and I didn’t want to miss the chance to create some special memories.

Rather than just booking a standard beach getaway, I leaned into my adventurous, frugal, business-owner mindset and reached out to one of my favorite spots—the King and Prince Resort in St. Simons, Georgia.

I pitched the idea: we’d hand out free pops at their pool in exchange for a couple of nights’ stay. They agreed, and we set a date.

So, last week, we packed up and hit the road on Friday after work. What should have been a 4.5-hour drive quickly turned into 8 hours with a 5-month-old and a 3-year-old in tow, so we didn’t arrive until just after midnight.

We got to bed, and by 9 a.m. the next morning, we were on the beach. I felt proud to check this obligatory summer activity off my acceptable dad list.

As the sun rose higher, it was time to sling some pops at the pool.

I had been hyping up the cart catering we were going to do for a while. The resort team even made Leigh a name badge identifying her as the "Princess of Pops." Still, she only lasted about 10 minutes—just long enough to eat two pops—before she got distracted and ran off with her new friends.

It was hectic as we tried to juggle the kids, pops, and meeting so many new people, but it was a blast. Honestly, it was more fun than if we had just come down for a regular beach trip.

I’ve said this in King of Pops orientations and trainings for years, but sometimes we all need a refresher: Life is more fun when you lean into community, adventure, and opportunity.

I had agreed to set up the cart from 2-3 p.m., but I ended up starting early and we handed out pops until nearly 5 p.m.

Now, King & Prince is going to put pops on the menu, we’re hoping to promote weddings on the beach together, and there’s a good chance we sold a King of Pops franchise.

All in a couple of hours of “work.”