The Acton Children’s Business Fair inspires children age 6 to 14 years old (Kinder thru 8th grade) 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.

Participants must be between the ages of 6 and 14 by the date of the fair or no older than 8th grade. 

We will accept up to 130 businesses. We max out every year, so please pay attention to application deadlines.

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 are allowed.

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? 

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 at the booth, 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 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.

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.

The fair will be a tented outdoor event with booths. Each business will be given a booth with an 6-foot table, full-cover tenting (10 ft wide), and 2 chairs. Table cloths will not be provided. 

Electricity is available only by request and includes an extra $10 charge on top of the regular booth fee. There will be limited electricity booths and designated in an assigned area. Please remember to include if you need access to electricity on your application.

We want to see your creativity come alive! Kids have come up with some pretty cool ideas throughout the years ranging from home-made jewelry to fruit smoothies. Check out previous year’s photos below for some inspiration.

Yes! We encourage any child that would like to participate to apply! Make sure to check the website regularly for important updated event information!

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 fairs all over the world with thousands of young entrepreneurs learning how to create value and have fun.