The Acton Children’s Business Fair inspires children to discover their inner entrepreneur. The largest entrepreneurship event for kids in North America, this one-day market gives children the opportunity to showcase their very own businesses.

$25 per vendor. This secures your "booth" for the event. Included is a t-shirt, lunch and beverages for the kidpreneur the day of the event! Please let us know of any food restrictions, we can and will accommodate! We want to make this afternoon special for our kidpreneurs!

Start with our resources page. Read inspiring stories about other young entrepreneurs and play games to hone your business skills. Send any questions you have to averdi@ascendactonacademy.com !

Application must be submitted online. Please submit one application for each business. Children working as a group should submit one application that includes each child’s information. No more than 3 participants per business. If there are multiple kidpreneurs sharing a booth, the t-shirt and lunch can be paid for separately for $10.

The application asks kids to think through some simple, but important elements of their business:

What product or service do you plan to sell?
What price will you charge for each product/service? How much will each product/service cost you?
How will you pay for your startup costs? If someone is helping you with your startup costs, how will you pay that person back?
How will you advertise/market your business before the fair?
At the end of the fair, how will you determine if your business was a success?

Two cupcake businesses? Not a problem. In general, we will let market forces play out, though we will let later entries know if another applicant has a similar idea so the later entrant can decide what to do.

The fair will be a tented outdoor event with booths. Each business will be given a "booth" with an 8-foot table (to share with one other business), and full-cover tenting. Chairs and table cloths will not be provided; we do highly recommend bringing your own. We are not able to accommodate businesses requiring electricity.

This event is designed to give children the experience of selling a product or service. If a parent is found selling or promoting a child’s product or service, their child’s business will be disqualified from the competition.

Parents of younger children may sit in the booth, but the children should be responsible for set up, customer interaction, and sales.

Parents may help their child fill out the application, but we expect the children to do as much as possible by themselves.
What support will my child have while preparing/planning their business?
We will offer a business plan that the children can follow; and we are working on having a mentoring/coaching "kidpreneur" event where the kids all come together with local entrepreneurs who can assist, inspire, and help them with ideas and planning.
We strongly encourage parents to "take a step back" and let the kids do the work. This is meant to be a valuable learning experience. To do this, we ask that parents ask good questions to their kids instead of giving them all the answers. The best learning happens when kids are given the freedom and space to practice trial and error!
So, my kids will be making REAL profit?
Yes! The children will be working and earning real money that they can put into their own savings, buy something special for themselves or others, or donate to a local cause (we are especially fond of this option!).
Will there be any food at the event?
Yes, there will be food and beverage available for purchase! Some of our kidpreneurs will be selling food items as well. Lunch will be provided for the kidpreneurs in celebration of their special day!

Jeff and Laura Sandefer and a few other families wanted to spark a sense of wonder and entrepreneurship in their children so they created the first Acton Children’s Business Fair in Austin, Texas, in 2007. That year, there were seven entrepreneurs and around 25 attendees. Now, there are over 115 entrepreneurs and 1,500 attendees at the Acton Children's Business Fair in Austin.