By ARABELLA SERRATA
Special to the PRESS
A Children’s Market took place on Saturday, Oct 19, at the South Padre Island Community Center.
The market event was created to help young entrepreneurs learn the basics of starting a small business and understanding general finances. The booths featured handmade crafts like ceramic pumpkins, pinecone ornaments and knitted hats. The children expressed a genuine passion for the things they were selling. Many of the “businesses” were derived from the child’s own hobbies.
Lauren Frey organized the Children’s Market. Frey is a homeschool mom of three, and she saw the potential in her kids after they expressed a desire to work.
“They’ve been asking me for jobs. They’re always trying to hustle and make money,” said Frey.
After hearing about the market from a friend, Frey wanted to bring it to SPI.
The market is established under Acton Children’s Business Fair, which donated to the event to help make it possible. The money was then directly funneled back to the kids, giving them spending cash to use on other businesses at the event. This allowed them to see both sides of the transaction, showing them thoughtful spending and earning.
The event saw 13 kids with over ten different “businesses.”
Before entering, the kids had to create a business plan and answer questions about what product or service they planned to sell: how much they would charge, how much startup costs would be, how they would advertise and how they determine if the business is a success.
According to Acton, the business must be child-led. Parents caught selling or promoting for the child would disqualify the child. Parents were allowed to sit near and chaperone the booth and help with the initial application process. Acton states they expect the children to do as much as possible by themselves.
“I’m hoping they can apply the skills learned to meet other commerce opportunities, maybe e-commerce… I’m hoping they take away from it and have a sense of completion,” said Frey.
She also commented on the kids’ resilience in turning up to the event, as there were at least 10 children who backed out.
“They asked me, what if nobody buys my stuff? And I told them, you got to try. You’ll never know unless you try,” said Frey.
She believes that pushing oneself to do hard things, like setting up shop, builds grit and perseverance.
Frey hopes to continue the event next year and encourages interested parties to monitor the Island Children’s Market Facebook page. For more information, visit the Children’s Business Fair’s official website at childrensbusinessfair.org.
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