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 children 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 30 businesses.

How much will the entry fee be?
The entry fee will be $20 and it will be due by April 15th. The Venmo/Paypal details will be shared once your application is approved.

What should be the age of the applicants?
We will accept applicants from ages 5-15.

What will the time frame be?
Setup times: 10-11am

Event time: 11am-2pm

Take down: 2-2:30 pm

 
What will the presentation and judging involve? 
All entries will be automatically entered in the business competition, and booths will be judged by local entrepreneurs on a variety of criteria. This will be an oppurtunity for each participant to shine! They will get a chance to "pitch" their business plan and showcase their products. Prizes will be awarded for "Highest Business Potential" and "Best Presentation/Creativity" for each age band. An awards ceremony will be held towards the end of the Fair.   

Where will the fair be held? 
The fair will be held in an indoor space at Locally Crafted Workshop in Rio, Gaithersburg. Its a beautiful space with high ceilings and large windows. The fair will be at the same time as an outdoor fair being hosted by Locally Crafted. The fair will draw crowds from the outdoor fair.

Where can we park?
Rio has plenty of free parking - street parking, a parking lot next to Kohl's and a parking lot opposite Target. If the lots are full, you are responsilbe for finding parking in other spots. Please unload your car in between Kohl's and Locally Crafted Workshop and then go and park.
 
Can we sell food and beverages?
Yes, but you are required to get the Montgomery County Food License if you will be selling any food item. You will be responsible to get the license and cover any fees associated with it. You may sell food items that are individually wrapped/packaged. All food and beverages must include information about the ingredients used. 

Will pets be allowed?
No, since it is an indoor space, no pets or live animals are permitted.

Can we volunteer?
Yes! We would love parent and children volunteers. Please mention in the application that you/parent will be available to volunteer pre/post fair or during the fair and we will assign tasks as needed.

How will we advertise the fair?
We will be distributing fliers at some schools. If anyone can advertise at the public schools, please let us know and we can give you fliers. We will be distributing fliers at the local shops near RIO. On the day of the event, there will be an outdoor fair. We will need volunteers to encourage shoppers to come to our indoor fair. We will have fliers, big signs, chalk signs on the roads but we will definitely need more help to encourage buyers to come to the indoor space.

Who are "Locally Crafted Workshop"?
Locally Crafted Workshop, a women-owned small business located at the Rio shopping center in Gaithersburg, is a large community space hosting arts & crafts workshops, parties, and private events. For more information, please visit our website www.LocallyCraftedWorkshop.com.

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 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 tables. Each business will bring their own 6-foot table and 1-2 chairs. We do have a few tables that we can provide to some businesses but we do not have enough for all. We encourage you to bring your own table but let us know if you need one. Please bring your own table cloth. 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. 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 do we get sponsors?
In the past, we have reached out to local businesses and our generous sponsors gave us gift cards/gift certificates/coupons/food and more! We cant thank them enough. Below is the list of our previous fair's sponsors. If you know of any sponsors who would be willing to donate in cash or kind, please let us know.

Special shout out to: Down to Business: Our regular sponsor has been the book "Down to Business" by Fenley Scurlock and Jason Liaw.  Fifteen-year-olds Fenley Scurlock and Jason Liaw had both started businesses by the time they'd reached middle school. In this groundbreaking book, these young entrepreneurs interview leaders involved with brand-name businesses like MasterClass, Hallmark, IKEA, Parachute, and more.

Photography Release: The property venue has asked us to confirm that you understand that by participating in this Fair you agree to the "Photographing, Recording, Reproduction or Transmission of Event" provision listed below, which they require to include in all of their event contracts. Thank you!  

Photographing, Recording, Reproduction or Transmission of Event:  The fair participant agrees the property manager shall have the right and is authorized to photograph, record, reproduce or otherwise transmit the fair/event without the written permission of the fair participant. Furthermore, the property manager shall be permitted to (i) reproduce, use, re-use, copy, modify/create derivatives in whole or in part, or otherwise use the recorded or documented fair/event or any part thereof in combination with or as a composite of other matter, including, but not limited to, text, data, images, photographs, illustrations, animation and graphics, video or audio segments of any nature, in any media or embodiment, now known or hereafter to become known, including, but not limited to, all formats of print, computer readable electronic magnetic, digital laser or optical-based media (the "Works") for any purpose whatsoever; (ii) use and permit to be used the name of the fair participant, whether in original or modified form, in connection with the Works as property manager may choose, and (iii) display, perform, exhibit, distribute, transmit or broadcast the fair/event by any means now known or hereafter to become known.

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.