Spring Marketplace Recap

Young Americans Center for Financial Education was transformed into a shopper’s dream last weekend for our Spring Young Entrepreneurs Marketplace. We hosted a variety of businesses with owners between the ages of 6-21. We were thrilled to see returning businesses and new youth alike who were ready to try their hands at running their own businesses.

The products available for purchase from the booths in AmeriTowne ranged from chocolate marshmallow treats from Esperanza and her business Get Some More S’MORES, to succulent plants in cute pots from Lauryn of Lauryn’s Chicks. We also had the 2014 Celebration of Young Entrepreneurs 6-11 age category winner, Lexi of The Bite Sized Bakery, selling her cake pops in several delicious flavors. Four amazing Youth Biz businesses, AirTube, Classic Shine, Homestyle Treats, and Timeless Sparkle impressed shoppers with their businesses pitches and their handmade, unique products.

We also saw great products in International Towne from veteran participants like Nic of Wild Wood Pens who was selling his beautiful wooden pens. Shoppers loved the greeting cards, jams, and purses handmade by 4^th grader Peyton of Kids Creative Crafts. Sweet Bee Sisters owned by  Lily, Chloe, and Sophie, not only sold tube after tube of their highly popular honeycomb lip balms sourced from their own backyard, but they also brought their younger siblings Charlie and Samuel along who have started their own company, Jars.  Finally, even though it was the first Young Entrepreneurs Marketplace for Rio and Celsius of Tio Rio Tamales, these friends teamed up to provide amazing customer service, and they successfully practiced some of the business skills they learned in an after school club supported by Young Americans’ Founding Framework entrepreneurship curriculum. They had no problem selling out of tamales and samosas (fried pastries with savory filling) to hungry shoppers, Young Americans staff, and other young business owners.

Contact us if you would like curriculum support for an after-school club, a class, or an entire school. Also, be sure to mark your calendars for our next Young Entrepreneurs Marketplaces on Saturday, December 5^th at our headquarters in Denver, and Saturday, December 12^th at our AmeriTowne location in Belmar.