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

Will there be an informational for the parents? 

A virtual informational will be held on October 9, 2021 at 10:00am via zoom . The meeting Id is : 898 2315 6221. You are able to log in by clicking on the following link  https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89823156221?pwd=MExtK04wa0F2K0k1WlNwZ2JPMDJ1UT09 

     The second annual Red River Children’s Business Fair , will be held on a Saturday November 27,2021  , from 12:00 am to 4:00 pm in the Red River District businesses can start setting up at 10:00 am.

      The rain date for 2021 has not yet been determined. 

What will be the Covid protocol? 

  We will keep participants updated on Covid protocols. Protocol will be determined based on the recommendations of local and state mandates at that time. If the fair goes virtual it will be a home shopping network style event. 

     The Red River Children’s Business Fair  will hold  an interest informational in September. 

The informational  is an opportunity to learn more about the business fair, ask questions, and meet other young entrepreneurs.

No.

Children who are ages 6 to 18 on the date of the business fair can participate.

Young entrepreneurs first make an important decision: they hire themselves! They then bring their parents or guardians to the launch party. The launch party is an opportunity to learn more about the business fair, ask questions, and meet other young entrepreneurs.

Following the informational, young entrepreneurs submit an application and then begin to build a product or service. They plan their business at every level: product/service, marketing, accounting, cost of goods, pricing, and more.

Accepted applicants will sell their product or service to real customers from a booth at the fair.

We will accept up to 32 businesses.

There will be a $25 registration fee from all accepted businesses.

Prizes will be given for the best businesses by age and category. Registration covers one T-shirt, Kid Entrepreneur class, digital business bio in souvenir book, prize given by category. We are using the CashApp to accept payments for the registration. If you are new to CashApp, you will receive a $5 credit for using it. The cash tag for the fair is $RRCBF. The invite code is JDCTGVT. Be sure to add the name of the business in the "For" section of the payment. 

Start with our resources page.

How do I apply? Can I apply as part of a group?

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.

What is on the application?
The application asks children 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),  Chairs and table cloths will not be provided. We are able to accommodate businesses requiring electricity.

Yes. We believe that starting and running your own business is its own reward, but in order to recognize those entrepreneurs who went above and beyond, we have awards in specific categories: most original business idea, best branding/marketing, best sales presentation.

All entries will be automatically entered in the business competition. 

Judges will ask the entrepreneurs questions about the fundamentals of their business, such as how they came up with product prices and who their target market is. Judges will also evaluate how much of the business reflects the child's own work (versus the parents'). Cash prizes will be presented at the end of the fair.

This event is designed to give children the experience of creating a business and selling a product or service. If a parent is found creating a business for a child or selling or promoting a child’s product or service, the 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.

Please remember to keep this about the child. Let them imagine, create, and problem solve. Your job is to maintain enthusiasm and provide encouragement.

Keep it simple. This is a children’s fair. Let the business plan, booth, and sales reflect your child at their best, not your best.

Let your child do the work. Let them make mistakes and learn from them. Let them problem solve and come up with their own solutions. Let them be messy! Let your child be the Chair of the Board, CEO, and owner of his/her ideas.

If your child gets stuck, return to the key question for her entrepreneurial journey: “What can I make with my own hands that others might enjoy?”

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

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:

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), full-cover tenting, and 1-2 chairs. Table cloths will not be provided. We are not able to accommodate businesses requiring electricity.

We are not able to provide electricity to the booths.

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.