I’m 13 years old and making money from selling my art and occasionally working for my mom. I also invest in stocks. My mom told me the lessons I am learning about money would be great to share with other parents and kids my age. Welcome to my second post in a longer series about becoming a Money Smart Teen! First, I’m going to share with you how I started my business.
How did I start?
I created my business when my mom organized a small workshop for kids where she taught us how to start a business. After this workshop, she found a business fair for kids and she signed me up. It was 2019 when I participated in my first Children’s Business Fair. I was 9 years old.
What is a Children’s Business Fair?
A Children’s Business Fair is where kids and teens can sell products or services to the public during this one day event. They have a booth and a table and they spend several hours representing their business in person, in front of all the people who come to visit and shop. Click here and see if there’s one near you!
My lessons learned from 4 years of participating
So far, I’ve participated in 4 business fairs. In some of them, I was successful, and in others, I failed, but each one taught me a valuable lesson.
1. I have to do the work if I want the reward
At my first business fair, a lot of the art I was selling was acrylic pours. Since I wasn’t selling much and we had the material, we set up a small acrylic pour D.I.Y station and put my little sister to run it. Many more people started stopping at my booth and buying from the D.I.Y station. It made around $100! At the end of the fair though, my mom gave most of the money to my sister. That made me pretty mad and confused. It’s my business, I should get the most money! My mom told me it was because my sister did the most work. She was the one talking to and helping the people at the D.I.Y station, where most people were, while I just sat and watched. I decided that the next time I was at a business fair, I would be in charge of the D.I.Y station.
At my 2nd business fair, I ran the D.I.Y station and made over $100! That left me feeling pretty confident. I thought I had everything I needed ready for my next event, so when the time came, I didn’t work or plan much. I made only $9 at my 3rd business fair! That left me feeling pretty disappointed. Those 2 experiences taught me that I need to work to be successful.
2. You have to draw people to your booth
Another lesson I learned is that I need to bring people to my booth. I can’t just sit the whole time and hope someone comes up and buys something. I have to stand up and talk to people passing by, ask them if they’d like to look at what I’m selling. That can be a little difficult though because I’m shy.
My booth also has to look nice if I want people to come to it. I believe this is another reason why I only made $9 at my 3rd fair. My booth was very messy and I wasn’t interacting with the people walking by.
3. Don’t get discouraged
Even though I wasn’t successful at my 3rd business fair, I learned from my mistakes! I worked, improved my products, and made over $70 at my 4th fair! I didn’t let my failure discourage me and stop me from participating the next year, and I improved! I’ve stuck with the same business the entire time and I’ve kept improving based on the lessons I learned.
One of the improvements I made at my last fair was drawing mandalas, quotes, and other stuff on top of my acrylic pours. That got my paintings a lot more sales!
I also added new things to my business. I sold resin jewelry made with my acrylic pour paint scraps. People bought those too!
My plans for the future.
One of my goals is to set up an online store to sell my art online, and I’m working on the website right now. I’m also going to be attending more business fairs in the future, and I’ll probably share those experiences here too!
Come back soon for more!
My journey as a 13-year-old entrepreneur has taught me valuable lessons in hard work, engagement, and resilience. From starting at business fairs to planning for an online store, I’ve learned the importance of hard work and perseverance. Moving forward, I’m excited to continue growing my business and share my experiences with others!
Useful Resources for kids interested in learning about entrepreneurship
- Children’s Business Fair
- Morgan Hill Children’s Business Fair
- Valley Springs Children’s Business Fair
- The Tuttle Twins and their Spectacular Show Business (book) – this is an affiliate link
- The Tuttle Twins and the Messed Up Market (book) – this is also an affiliate link
- My Mom’s Workshops for kids and teens
