Business is Child's Play at the biennial Clovis event

Children aged 5 to 17 participated in the first Children’s Business Fair of 2021. This event will be held again this year.

Published: September 22, 2022 – 1:25 PM
Written by Frank Lopez

In its second year, the Made in Clovis Marketplace and Expo will host the Children’s Business Fair on September 24-25, giving Valley children the opportunity to learn business practices from hands-on experience.

This follows a hugely successful first event last year when about 50 children sold everything from succulents to handmade jewelry.

First introduced to the Valley by local entrepreneur and mother Mykel Suntrapak, the Children’s Business Fair aims to help change the way young people learn about business practices.

First established in Acton, Texas in 2007, the program has grown to become globally recognized, with business fairs held in the United States, Canada, Mexico, as well as the United Kingdom, Romania, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia and other countries. grew to

“I found this part of their program to be a good fit for me. she said. She originally investigated the program when looking for an educational tool to use with her son. “The fact that he did it hands-on with his peers enriched the education.”

This year, at a workshop event for new and returning attendees, young entrepreneurs met with experts from Clovis’ marketing firm Top Hand Media and Noble Credit Union for a motivational story from life-stricken local speaker Mia Natalia. received. Changes in spinal cord injuries in 2017.

“We wanted kids to see how we can help them become more resilient, inspired, and motivated,” says Suntrapak.

With just a $20 registration fee, kids can learn from their investment with minimal expense. For $20, Suntrapak says he includes a day’s worth of tables, linens and chairs, teaching kids that a business requires an initial investment.

Registration for the event opened in late June.

“We want them to buy into it,” said Soundrapak. “Every business has investments, just like anything else. It’s very minimal, but we want them to invest.”

Parents are encouraged to participate in supporting roles and hold their children accountable.

“We want our children to work, but we also recognize that many of these children are five or six years old,” said Sean Miller, business development manager for the City of Clovis. said. “As kids get older, I appreciate it when they’re working on it and parents take a step back.”

Suntrapak added that a parent’s main responsibility is to support their children and encourage them to “encourage” them, but leave the main choices and decisions to them.

In addition to its booth at ClovisFest, Suntrapak hopes to accommodate children and booths at other vendor fairs around Fresno and Clovis, and last year some of the children who attended were able to host booths in Clovis. I added that I did. Farmer’s market.

But mostly the event is geared toward education, teaching children the basics of running a business from initial investment to finished product.

“Some of these kids are really young,” Miller said.

This event is sponsored by Valley Children’s Hospital, Clovis Chamber of Commerce, Me-n-Ed’s, City of Clovis, Inspiration Transportation, Four Seas Construction, Reading Heart, Central California Parent, and Libertarian Committee.

The Children’s Business Fair and Made in Clovis will take place at ClovisFest on September 24-25.