Mayville NY:
Mayville’s 1st Annual Children’s Business Fair
There is an innovative and exciting event happening for children in Mayville. On November 10th, Mayville will be having its 1st Children’s Business Fair at 2 Academy Street in the Chautauqua Municipal Building gym from 12pm-4pm. Children ages 6yrs-14yrs get to be an entrepreneur for the day, and it’s free to participate. The children create a product, and they launch the startup of that business at the fair that day.
This innovative idea is in coordination with a non-profit organization called the Acton Academy that has been having these children’s business fairs in Austin, Texas since 2007. The first business fair in Austin was coordinated by Jeff and Laura Sandefer. They wanted to inspire their own children as well as others, giving them the opportunity to be an entrepreneur for the day. Their first event in Austin only had seven participants. Now it has grown into a larger event with over 100 participants annually, and it is the largest kid entrepreneurship event in North America. The Sandefer’s enjoy this so much that they have made it possible for other locations and organizations to follow their model.
Sorena Gilkinson is a small business owner and resident in Mayville. She came across the Children’s Business Fair idea one day when she saw a post about it on Facebook. She thought it was a great idea and that her own children and others might like to participate in. The children can be creative, learn about being a business owner, and have fun being an entrepreneur for the day. Sorena proposed the idea to her friend Ariel Cartwright, who is also a small business owner and resident in Mayville. Together they decided to coordinate this event, and it’s being run under their new community based not-for-profit called Inspire Good of WNY Inc. in Mayville.
The Mayville Children’s Business Fair will allow up to thirty different businesses, and there are rules and procedures that must be followed. Children may work alone or together in small groups of two or three. It is required that the children do all the work of creating their business idea. Parents are not allowed to help create, set up, or promote their child’s business. Tables and chairs will not be provided, so parents will need to supply a table, a tablecloth, and two chairs. The parents must be present at all times, and they need to make sure that their child has everything they need as well as some available start up cash.
Currently there are 12 participants in this year’s fair. They will have the opportunity to talk about and promote their business to customers and sell their products at the fair using real money for transactions. The children participating have created a variety of items including things like candles, Christmas wreaths, clay creations, baked goods, jewelry, and more. Their businesses will be judged by three local judges, and three $50 cash prizes will be awarded. These prizes were donated by Handcrafted from the Heart, The Mayberry Jungle, and Inspire Good of WNY.
Being that it’s the first year here, it was a challenge to find enough participants initially. They are glad that area families became interested when they heard about it, and they are excited to share this opportunity with children in the community. They are hoping that next year they will have more participation and want to try to get the schools involved to help promote this wonderful opportunity. They are also considering a different time of year and will try to advertise it more throughout Chautauqua County on the local radio stations and newspapers.
When children want to participate in this event, there is an application that needs to be filled out. Parents can help their child fill out the application if need be. The application will include questions like what their business product is, price of the product, and what their startup cost would be. It also includes questions about how they would market and advertise their business as well as how they will determine if their business was successful.
To read more about the Acton Academy and the children’s business fairs, or to register for the Mayville fair, go to https://www.childrensbusinessfair.org/mayville-newyork.You can also find this event on Facebook.
This is a great opportunity for children to learn about what it takes to be an entrepreneur and run a business for a day. Even if you don’t have a child participating in the event, please join these innovative children on November 10th. Come and shop at Mayville’s 1st Annual Children’s Business Fair and support these children and their efforts of being an entrepreneur for the day.Mayville’s 1st Annual Children’s Business Fair