Acton Children's Business Fair of Washington, DC

Saturday, May 11, 2024, 10:00am-12:30pm
(Rain Date May, 18, 2024)
1521 20th Street NW
Dupont Circle

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Acton Children’s Business Fair of Washington, DC?
The Acton Children’s Business Fair of Washington, DC inspires children to discover their inner entrepreneur. The largest entrepreneurship event for children in North America, this one-day market gives children the opportunity to showcase their very own businesses. Watch the short video below to learn more!

Interviews with young entrepreneurs at the Acton Children's Business Fair of Washington, DC.

When and where will it be held?
The next Acton Children’s Business Fair of Washington, DC will be held at 1521 20th Street NW, in Dupont Circle on Saturday, May 11, 2024.

What is the rain date?
The rain date is Saturday, May 18, 2024.

Who can participate?
Children who are ages 6 to 14 on the date of the business fair can participate.

How does it work?
Young entrepreneurs first make an important decision: they hire themselves! Then, they submit an application and begin to build a product or service. They plan their business at every level: product/service, marketing, accounting, cost of goods, pricing, and more.

Accepted applicants will sell their product or service to real customers from a booth at the fair. If you need help getting started, take a look at our resources page, especially the 3 Magic Seeds for starting a business.

How many businesses will you accept?
In 2024, we will accept up to 80 businesses.

Is there a fee to participate?
We will collect a $10 participation fee (in cash) from all accepted businesses. The fee will be collected at the start of the business fair, when the young entrepreneurs check in.

Where should I begin? 
Start with our resources page.

How do I apply? Can I apply as part of a group?
Application must be submitted online and will be open in March 2024. 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.

What is on the application?
The application asks children 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?

How will the fair be set up?
The fair will be a tented outdoor event with booths. Each business will be given a booth with an 8x2x2-foot table (to share with one other business), full-cover tenting, and 1-2 chairs. Table cloths will not be provided. We are not able to accommodate businesses requiring electricity. Here is a site plan for Dupont Circle.

Will electricity be available?
Unfortunately, we are not able to provide electricity to the booths. Per the fire marshal, generators or open flames are not permitted.

What are the rules? 
This event is designed to give children the experience of selling a product or service. Parents may help their children, but we expect the children to do as much as possible by themselves, including set up, customer interaction, and sales. Parents of younger children may sit in the booth with them if necessary.

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

What advice do you have for parents?
Please remember to keep this about the children. Let them imagine, create, and problem solve. Your job is to maintain enthusiasm and provide encouragement.

Check out this video with our Top Five Parent Tips, including:

  • Keep it simple. This is a children’s fair. Let the business plan, booth, and sales reflect your child at her/his best, not your best.

  • Let your child do the work. Let her make mistakes and learn from them. Let him problem solve and come up with his own solutions. Let her be messy! Let your child be the Chair of the Board, CEO, and owner of his/her ideas.

  • If your child gets stuck, return to the key question for the entrepreneurial journey: What can I make with my own hands that others might enjoy?

I signed up for email updates, so why haven’t I received any?
We generally send email updates only during business fair season (March-May), though we occasionally send other updates outside that time.

How can I contact the Acton Children’s Business Fair of Washington, DC?
Contact us here. Please note that, due to the high volume of emails we receive, we may not be able to respond quickly. We encourage you to review our FAQs and website before contacting us.

How did the Acton Children’s Business Fair get started?
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. Since then, the Acton Children’s Business Fair has grown to over 1,500 fairs around the world serving more than 50,000 young entrepreneurs in over 500 cities and 20 countries.