Kid's Fest Business Fair in Troy, Illinois event image

Kid's Fest Business Fair in Troy, Illinois

Saturday, October 15, 2022

8:00AM - 2:00PM

Tri-Township Activity Center

284 Riggin Rd, Troy, IL 62294, USA

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About the fair
Kids develop a brand, create a product or service, build a marketing strategy, and then open for customers at our one-day Kid's Fest Business Fair. 

Our group will be hosting a "Kid's Fest" section at the Troy Craft Fair being held on October 15th. We participated in this last year and had over 20 different kid businesses present! 

The $15 registration fee will cover a portion of the booth space, one 6' table, and a chair. We will likely be set-up across from the Troy Activity Center/Roller Skate Area in the grassy field.

Kid's bring their handmade items to display (along with any signage they'd like) and practice their customer service skills during the selling process. They will likely see and speak to 100+ customers that stroll through the craft fair.

The Acton School of Business will provide funding that will allow us to give prizes for the kids, such as "Creative Display", "Most Unique Item", "Great Sales Skills", etc.

Hopefully your child will find great success in their business, but if not, it will have been an amazing learning experience. I believe there is no better teacher than real, LIVE experience; this event has been a great way for my son to expand economic principles and practice the art of selling. 

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about the event! Feel free to contact me: 

-Amy Wollenweber
2wollenwebers@gmail.com
618-803-8906
Hosted by

Amy Wollenweber

🗓️ Started hosting in 2021

Identity verified

⭐️ 4.7 (3)

My name is Amy Wollenweber and my son is a homeschooled, 6th grader. He has participated in the Troy Craft Fair for 2 years in a row and it has been such a great learning experience.

I believe there is no better teacher than real, LIVE experience; this event has been a great way for him to expand economic principles and practice the art of selling. We hope you'll join us!

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

-Amy Wollenweber
2wollenwebers@gmail.com, 618-803-8906, or message me on Facebook

19 booths participating

The Colorful Corner

The Little Women Mercantile

And 17 others.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Acton Children’s Business Fair?

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.

How many businesses will you accept?

We will accept up to 36 businesses.

Where should I begin? 

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

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 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? 

What if someone else has the same business idea?  

Two card making 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.

How will the fair be set up?

The fair will be an indoor/outdoor event with booths. We will be outdoors in a grassy area of the Troy park (it's much more cost effective and they have almost unlimited space for vendors).

We will be purchasing a 10x10 booth that 3 participants will share. Each child/business will get a 6' folding table and a folding chair to use. They will be situated in a U shaped format:  |_| 

Will electricity be available?

Unfortunately, we are not able to provide electricity to the booths.

What are the rules? 

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.

It is very unlikely that Troy Craft Fair will allow us to sell food (they didn't in the past), but I can ask.

How did the Acton Children’s Business Fair get started?

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.

Our incredible sponsors

Children's Business Fair

Acton Academy

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