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.

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. We will let market forces play out and not regulate what is sold.

Weather permitting, the market will be held outdoors. Limited spaces are available inside for those vendors requiring electricity.

Booth spaces are 10′ x 10′. All belongings must fit within that space. Canopies or tents are recommended for outside spaces but not required and MUST be weighted down.
In severe weather instances, the market may be moved indoors or rescheduled with advanced notice.

Limited spaces are available inside for those vendors requiring electricity. All vendors must request electricity use at time of registration.

Please review our Guidelines and Details (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n_GEzJ86OrU9k10aVCElglIKyeC4-99TY5wJu64vs2A/edit?usp=sharing) document. 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.

Each business will be charged a $25 non-refundable fee. Each business will be given one event t-shirt. Additional shirts can be purchased for $15 each.
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.