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Application Guidelines

Selection Criteria

We are no longer accepting applications for the 2024 Acton Children’s Business Fair. Please check back in March 2025 to apply for the 2025 Acton Children’s Business Fair of Washington, DC.

Application Guidelines

1. 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.

2. Applicants must be between the ages of 6 and 14 on the date of the business fair.

3. Parents may help their child fill out the application, but we expect the children to do as much as possible by themselves.

4. You will receive an email confirming that we received your application. If you don’t receive an email confirmation it means we either didn’t receive your application or that your email address was incorrect.

5. We will collect a $10 participation fee from all accepted businesses. The fee will be collected at the start of the business fair, when the young entrepreneurs check in.

Selection Criteria

When selecting businesses to participate in the business fair, we look for:

1. Complete applications, with all questions answered.

2. Evidence that the application and the business are the work of the child and not the adult—we don’t expect polished applications!

3. Plans by the young entrepreneur to pay back any loans/financial assistance he/she may receive.

If we receive more applications than we have space for, we will randomly select participants from among all of the applications that meet the above criteria while also seeking, as much as possible, to have a balance of ages and genders at the business fair.

Please Note: This event is designed to give children the experience of creating a business and selling a product or service. Adults, please remember to keep this about the children. Let the application and the business reflect your child at her/his best, not your best. Let her make mistakes and learn from them. Let him problem solve and come up with his own solutions. Your job is to maintain enthusiasm and provide encouragement.