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.

We will accept up to 30 businesses. Not all businesses will be accepted, so please be sure to do your best on the application to improve your chance of being chosen.
All business will know whether they've been accepted by August 15th, 2026.
How old does my child need to be to participate??
While we encourage entrepreneurs at all ages, we've found that kids over the age of 8 tend to do best at our fairs. With all the work required, kids younger than this feel overwhelmed. This fair will be open to kids between the ages of 8-18.

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:

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 an outdoor event. Each business will be given a designated space. Tables, chairs, canopies and table cloths will NOT be provided. You are welcome to bring your own generator but electricity will not be provided.

Unfortunately, we are not able to provide electricity to all booths. If you require electricity, please let us know and we will try our best to accommodate.

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.
Can I donate a prize?
Sure! We love giving awards to our kids and are always happy to accept donations. (Gift cards are always a hit!)
Our 2021 fair had prizes for the following categories:
Best Businessman
Personality Plus
Best Packaging
Overall Most Talented

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.