‘It’s awesome to watch them take over’: Students become entrepreneurs for fall business fair

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Acton Academy in south Lincoln gave its students the opportunity to become entrepreneurs Saturday.

Seventy-five kids were able to sell products to real customers, learning the ins and outs of business management.

“Children are capable of far more than we give them credit for, and today is case number 101 of that,” said Acton co-founder Zach Harson. “They are so much more capable than we believe them to be when we just step back and let them run these businesses.”

Students sold everything from products like slime, jewelry and keychains to foods like keto lemonade, popcorn and cupcakes.

Seven-year-old Haddie has been selling “Play Clay” for two years with high sales, but she knows what kind of competition she’s up against.

“Probably the first business fair, I’ve been close to sold out, but I’m competing against different business Play-Doh and that stuff so it’s harder,” said Haddie.

Harson says practicing business management is a great skill to learn at a young age, as it helps kids learn life skills like interacting with each other and brushing up on some math.

“These are real products for real money, so it’s not just coming out and walking through a science fair,” says Harson. “These are real customers coming out and spending their real money on these businesses and getting to reward these kids for all their hard work.”

There was a competition at the fair as well, where judges picked the booth they felt had the best business model. The winner was “Essential Benefits,” which sold essential oils, eggs and body scrub.