📣 Applications for the HoCo Children's Business Fair open in January of 2025! Interested sponsors and Volunteers contact us at spartekacademy@gmail.com.
Hosted by

Ja'Near Garrus

🗓️ Started hosting in 2022

🚀 Has hosted 3 fairs

We are a team of passionate entrepreneurs, educators, mentors, and parents, who want our children to learn about entrepreneurship in a practical and fun way.
📣 Applications for the HoCo Children's Business Fair open in January of 2025! Interested sponsors and Volunteers contact us at spartekacademy@gmail.com.
Pending confirmation

Howard County Children's Business Fair

Saturday, May 17, 2025

1:00PM - 4:00PM

The Mall in Columbia

10300 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia, MD 21044, USA

Applications open soon

Join mailing list

This fair hasn’t been confirmed yet. The date or location might change.

About the fair
Visit our website for more details at hocochildrensbusinessfair.org!

Observe the opportunity for children to launch their very own startup business!

Kids develop a brand, create a product or service, build a marketing strategy, and then open for customers at our one-day marketplace. 

We will host 40 booths at the HoCo CBF event on May 17, 2025, from 1 pm – 4 pm in Columbia, Md.

This event is sponsored by Spartek Academy: An Acton Academy, the Baltimore Children's Business Fair, Acton Academy, the Acton School of Business, and the generous support of our donors and volunteers.  We all believe that principled entrepreneurs are heroes and role models for the next generation.

Whether an entrepreneur is famous like Elon Musk or Oprah Winfrey or they are one of the thousands of unsung business owners across this country, these are the people who make sacrifices to innovate, create jobs, and serve their communities.

Interested in sponsoring or volunteering? Please email spartekacademy@gmail.com.
Hosted by

Ja'Near Garrus

🗓️ Started hosting in 2022

🚀 Has hosted 3 fairs

We are a team of passionate entrepreneurs, educators, mentors, and parents, who want our children to learn about entrepreneurship in a practical and fun way.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Howard County Children’s Business Fair?

The Howard County Children's Business Fair is a part of the Acton Children’s Business Fair which inspires children to discover their inner entrepreneur. 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 45 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?

The 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 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 an indoor event with booths. Each business will be given a booth with a 6-foot table, and 1-2 chairs. Table cloths are required. We are not able to accommodate businesses requiring electricity.

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 setting 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.

Our incredible sponsors

Children's Business Fair

Acton Academy

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