Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs: Burekup Fair Success

Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs at the Burekup Fair

On arriving at the Burekup Fair, we discovered that someone else had set up in our designated spot. We milled around waiting until the problem was sorted, and once a new space was allocated, we busied ourselves with setting up.

A very strong easterly wind challenged us with erecting banners and keeping tablecloths on the tables. It was obviously going to be a hot day. Thankfully, the red gum trees overhead would keep us in shade all day.

Bargain hunters were quick to do the rounds of the stalls well before we were ready. While we were still trying to set things up, people were already asking questions and making purchases. We will have to be better prepared for this next time round!

The kids’ anticipation and the joyful growing crowd created an air of excitement. It was a real country fair without all the commercial jazz that you see at many fairs today.

Visitors and locals first joined in with the Australia Day barbecue breakfast. Following the brekky, the crowd moved on to all the stalls and activities. There were old machinery displays, a free bouncy castle and water slide, a dunk tank, fairy floss, pat-the-animals, thong-throwing contests, face painting, and people selling their wares — from homemade fudge, plants and toys to live pigs, chickens and crafts.

Other enterprising kids were also selling their toys, bikes, clothes and things they had made. It was the perfect place to see business ideas for young entrepreneurs being tested in a real community setting.

Setting Up Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs at a Kids Market Stall

A market stall is a wonderful way for children to test their ideas in the real world. It gives them the chance to see whether people are interested, practise talking to customers, learn how to display products, and understand that business is about far more than simply having something to sell.

The Australian Government’s business.gov.au page on market stalls explains that a market stall is a temporary structure used to sell products or services, and that stallholders may need to think about registrations, permits, food safety, insurance and other requirements. Read more about setting up a market stall here.

For children, the lesson can start simply:

• What are we selling?
• Who might want to buy it?
• How should we display it?
• What price should we charge?
• How do we speak confidently to customers?
• How do we count money and work out profit?

Novelty Products and Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs

Having a novelty product is one of the keys to drawing interest, and we had the perfect product.

Flynn and Amber’s “Fish in a Bottle” were an absolute hit. Kids came from everywhere dragging their parents over to look at the fish. Once at our stall, we were able to show them our other items too.

This was a powerful business lesson. Sometimes one unusual product can bring people closer, start conversations and help customers notice the rest of what is on offer.

Learning to Ask for the Sale

Chayse soon got the hang of it. Whenever a customer wandered past, he would hold up a lolly bag and ask if they would like to buy one.

Many people bought lollies from him simply because he had asked. How can you refuse a little five-year-old?

There was another little boy walking around selling his mum’s homemade fudge. He was not shy in coming forward and asking customers if they would like to make a purchase. Talking to his dad later in the day, he said that his son had sold more fudge walking around than they had sold at their stall.

I guess there is a lesson in that.

For young entrepreneurs, learning to politely ask is powerful. It builds confidence, communication skills and resilience. It also teaches children that customers often need a friendly invitation before they buy.

Customers, Money and Confidence

It was not long before we had customers coming in their droves. Talking with customers, handling money and recording on a pad what was sold all kept the kids on their toes.

Taking turns to man the stall allowed each of us time to catch up with friends and also spend some of the takings at the fair.

Our enterprising kids were very happy with their results. Each was able to sell products and make a profit.

Flynn’s Howitt’s Honey was very popular and sold very well. Kit and Chayse sold about half their lolly bags and, due to the hot day, Jai’s icy-poles also sold well. Jai made a profitable sale with his exercise equipment. Amber sold succulents. Kaitlin received commissions for her Eye heART artwork. And, of course, the Fish in a Bottle sold well.

Making Sales Turns Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs Into Real Learning

This is where business ideas for young entrepreneurs become real learning.

It is one thing to imagine a business. It is another thing entirely to prepare the product, take it to a fair, display it, speak to customers, handle money, record sales, pay back costs and work out profit.

Those are real lessons.

Cath and I also had a terrific result with our own stall. This was the first time we had put ourselves out there with our new business in the local community, and it allowed us to develop our own self-efficacy too. We spoke with many interesting people and learned a lot about their lives and interests.

By the end of the day, we were exhausted.

Celebrating Success Builds Self-Efficacy

It was important to celebrate our success because this is vital in fostering self-efficacy around being entrepreneurial kids.

The kids counted the takings and divided the money up. They then paid any debts so they could work out their profits. Each received congratulations and a hug for being successful enterprising kids.

Many great lessons around financial education were learned on this day.

It is our hope that our kids continue to develop self-efficacy around being entrepreneurial, as we believe this will give them greater opportunities when they become adults.

Finally, we would like to thank the Burekup Country Club, and in particular Sally and Jason Barnden and their team, for coordinating the fair.

Just as an added note, the day after the fair, five more Fish in a Bottle sold!

Where to Next?

• Read the marketing lesson that came before the fair
• Read Flynn’s honey business story
• Explore more family enterprise stories
• Find more kids business ideas

Have your children ever tried a market stall, fair stall or small business idea? We would love to hear what they sold and what they learned along the way.