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 20 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?
Applications 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 ages may participate?
Entrepreneurs ages 6-16 are welcome to join in this event.
Is there a cost to participate?
There is a booth fee of $15.00 per booth. This will simulate a business start-up expense and all money collected from these fees will be used for advertising, awards, and other things directly benefiting the entrepreneurs. When a business is accepted for the fair, we will send a confirmation email that will tell how to pay this fee. The fee must be paid at that time to hold the booth space.
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 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.
How will the fair be set up?
The fair will be a partially covered outdoor event with booths. The fair will be held in and around the shelterhouse at Northridge Church of Christ, 578 Northridge Road in Circleville. Participants are welcome to bring a canopy in case their booth is not covered by the shelterhouse. Each business will be provided a booth space with an 8-foot table and 1-2 chairs. Tablecloths will not be provided.
There will also be judges (local business leaders and mentors) visiting each booth to get to know the entrepreneurs and their businesses. This will give the participants a chance to present their businesses and ask questions of adults who know about leading and growing a business. At the end of the event, we will present awards such as Most Creative Business, Best Presentation, and Most Potential (*these categories may change).
Will electricity be available?
We are able to provide electricity to a limited number of booths. If your booth will require electricity, please let us know that in your application so that we can determine if an appropriate space is available.
What are the rules?
This event is designed to give children the experience of selling a product or service. As such, the businesses need to be conducted by the young entrepreneurs with limited help from parents or other adults.
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.
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.
