Kids Business Fair Saturday
The owner of Pass It On is excited to present a Youth Entrepreneur Fair as part of our sale. Kim has always been an entrepreneur at heart. As a 9 year old she organized activities and events for other kids in the neighborhood starting with the Wagon Train where anyone who had a wagon could get their handle attached to the axle of the next wagon then jump in and ride around the neighborhood. There was the obligatory selling of Girl Scout cookies and calendars, group neighborhood games, puppet shows, and a Fun Run around the block for little kids after running a mini marathon with her dad. Turning 10 brought a move and all new neighbors so she tried selling her original art greeting cards (not a hit), more Girl Scout cookies, more sophisticated group games with the neighbor kids, then there were other performances, and backyard fairs with games and prizes. As a teenager Kim and her sisters offered group babysitting at their house so parents could go Christmas shopping or wrap presents with the no kids in their house and parents were treated to a play when they came to pick up their kids. Oh, a childhood filled with so many crazy things! Adulthood is more of the same! So it's only natural to incorporate a way for young makers and crafters to be a part of this community event.
The Concept
We are looking for the makers, the crafters, the entrepreneurs ages 8-18 to come show us what you've got! We will create a kids fair inside our sale building and each young business owner should develop their own brand, create a product or service, develop a marketing strategy, and come prepared to talk to customers and practice their business skills.
The Setup
The Kids Business Fair will happen on Saturday during our sale. We don't have room before then because we start our sales with so much inventory PACKED into the building. By Saturday we usually have sold enough that we can condense the remaining large items and use that square footage for the young entrepreneurs. Also by Saturday we have sold enough items in other areas to have enough empty tables to use for the fair, so that is our current plan.
The Kids Fair will run approximately 10am to 5pm. Entrepreneurs may enter at 9:45am on Saturday, the day of the event, to set up their booth. Our earliest customers don't usually head to the checkout until 10:15 so there's no rush to be set up, take your time.
We will supply the tables, but we have limited chairs.
We encourage participants to bring their own chairs, table cloths, signs, and other decorations.
We are not able to supply electricity to the tables.
The Details
We will direct all shoppers into the entrepreneur area on their way to the checkout. All booths should remain open for the full 7 hours, but if you have other commitments that evening, let us know you'll need to leave early. We'd rather have you there for 6 hours than not at all. If anyone sells out of product, we encourage them to stay and talk with customers, they might be able to take orders and make more sales by delivering or shipping products later.
The Kid Fair participants and their families will be invited to shop during the Volunteer Appreciation Half Price Presale on Saturday night which runs 6-9pm. Regular shopping ends at 5pm so there should be time to grab a quick meal from a nearby eatery and return to shop at or after 6pm.
We aim to institute a mentor program. Each kid would be paired with an adult mentor who has vendor experience and has agreed to be a mentor. We'll try to pair people with similar businesses or crafts if possible. Once paired, the mentor will reach out before the event so they can get to know each other, offer tips and advice to their fair buddy, support them in marketing for the fair, help them set up their table, and check in on them during and after the event.
The Rules
No food selling allowed. (On the off chance the participant already has a food handler's permit within Washington County, we will consider that addition, but the cost of that might be out of budget if only needed for a 1-day kids event.)
We may allow similar products on a case by case basis or due to space limitations we may deny an applicant who has a similar product as one who has already been accepted. (Apply early!)
Parents may sit with or behind their children (and help them with money), but the child is responsible for setting up and selling their products or services and we hope most of the talking and action is done by the children.
Any parent found selling for their kid may be asked to leave and will disqualify their child from receiving any prizes.
Please fill out this form and we will get back to you!
