ST. GEORGE — Budding business owners had the opportunity to participate in the junior farmer’s market at the Red Cliffs Mall Saturday, learning skills like money management, customer service and sales.
The Children’s Entrepreneur Market, put on by the Libertas Institute, made its way to St. George this weekend, at which around 75 children between the ages of 5-16 participated by setting up booths to sell items and products of their choice, Lynee Fife, the organization’s manager, said.
The event provided a safe safe environment and an opportunity for the young business owners to practice selling within a marketplace run entirely by children. The market provided an excellent opportunity for parents to share an experience with their children while teaching them about the various aspects of running a business, Fife said.
“They start with product creation, and then they have to figure out how much the product should cost, and then they have to market their product. So it teaches them many skills,” she said.
The event is also designed to teach children the value of money, competition in business, customer service skills, marketing a product and money management.
Children were encouraged to sell anything, as long as the product was kid-friendly. They were also required to run the booths themselves, including making change, being involved in customer service, product description and salesmanship.
The products on display included handcrafted items as well as store-bought merchandise, raffle games and services.
Toast was being sold at one booth, which Curtis Woodbury said taught his children how to take an item and add value to it, in this instance, taking bread and making it into a salable item – toast.
“They not only learn how to sell,” Woodbury said, “But they learn how to take something and turn it into a product adding value.”
For Kimber Hanks and Katie Cooper, who were selling snow cones, it was all about product creation and the challenge of the sale.
“We had fun selling stuff to people,” Cooper said.
The organization launched in Provo in 2017, and since then, has expanded to 13 cities across Utah. This year marked the first time the Children’s Entrepreneur Market came to Washington County.
Fife said the program launched in 2017 after a change in Utah made it so that children are no longer required to have a license to run a business or sell goods.
The schedule of events is posted in April, at which time any child ages 5-16 can sign up to participate. The events typically sell out quickly, so children are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible.
“Some are selling out a month before the scheduled market,” Fife said.
More information about the upcoming events can be found on the Children’s Entrepreneur Market Facebook page.
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