The Durham Children’s Business Fair inspires children to discover their inner entrepreneur. This one-day market gives children the opportunity to showcase their very own businesses.

There will be a winner in each age group and category.
The 3 categories are:

Most Original Business Idea
Highest Business Potential
Best Presentation/Creativity

Age groups include: 5-7, 8-10, 11-15.

Start with our resources page. Read inspiring stories about other young entrepreneurs and play games to hone your business skills.

The 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.

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 virtual event. Each business will create their own online presence.

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.

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.
What is Empowered Minds Academy?
Empowered Minds Academy is an independently-owned and operated school that was founded in Fall 2016 and became part of the Acton Academy Affiliate Network (http://www.actonacademy.org/) in Fall 2017. The affiliate network is passionate about revolutionizing education, pursuing best practices, and have agreed to protect a learner-driven environment. To learn more, visit their website (http://www.empoweredmindsacademy.com).