Students from age 5 to 25 will debut businesses at Young Entrepreneurs Showcase
It was last summer when Joy Jones first set up a table with a pitcher of lemonade in her driveway, eager to offer cool drinks and a smile to passers-by.
"The thing she really likes to do is make people feel good," Tora Jones, Joy's mom, told the News-Leader. "When they come over, she likes to talk to them and compliment them."
"Yeah, because I'm Joy," the six-year old responded with a laugh. "Doesn't that make sense?"
Now, Jones is preparing to debut her business, Joy's Fantastic Lemonade and Goodies, alongside 60 other children and young adults at the Young Entrepreneurs Showcase on Saturday. The free showcase will take place inside the E*Plex at the Ozarks Empire Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Young Entrepreneurs Showcase is a product of the newly established nonprofit Living Adventure. Held twice a year, the showcase allows students ages five to 25 to showcase their businesses to the community. Leading up to the showcase, students participate in a four-week curriculum facilitated through both in-person and virtual meetings. They learn how to create business plans, market their products to targeted demographics, create budgets and pitch their ideas to industry professionals.
Jeremy Hahn, lead adventure officer at Hahn Adventure Company, the lead sponsor for the event, said the showcase evolved from the Children's Business Fair, which was held for about five years.
"It was to help kids in the tougher parts of Springfield to dream a little bit about their future and think of maybe different ways they can earn an income," Hahn said about the Children's Business Fair. It was decided to rebrand the event to the Young Entrepreneurs Showcase to be more inclusive to teenagers and young adults.
With the help of her mom Joy will of course have lemonade for sale, along with hot chocolate, tea and chocolate chip cookies — her favorite — at the showcase. Drinks will cost $3 and cookies will cost $1.
When asked about why she enjoys managing Joy's Fantastic Lemonade and Goodies, Jones said: "I actually love everything about my business, how people smile whenever they get stuff."
Jones is a kindergartener at New Covenant Academy and while not busy helping her mom make lemonade and baked goods, she enjoys taking karaoke classes. She hopes to save money from her business to enroll in more karaoke classes, which she has been enrolled in since she was four years old.
In addition to supporting young business owners, Hahn said attendees of the showcase will be asked to vote for their business of choice in three categories: Best Overall, Best Customer Service and Best Business Model. QR codes will be set up at each booth for virtual voting. Each of the three winners will receive a $500 grant from the showcase, which can be used to further develop their business.
Fina's Market, a vendor market specializing in local, handcrafted goods, is also sponsoring a prize. The business owner who wins the Fina's Market choice award will receive six months of free booth space at the market on Walnut Street.
Tasty treats like Jones' are just a sliver of what will be available at the showcase. Hahn said there will be businesses selling wood-burned artwork, metalwork, knit and crocheted products and even car detailing packages.
Brooke Bowman, 14, is also participating in the Young Entrepreneur Showcase with her business, The Littlest Things. Bowman, an eighth grader at Ozark Junior High School, launched her business about eight months ago but has spent the last few weeks honing her craft.
Through The Littlest Things, Bowman sells car air fresheners, which she calls Freshies, wax melts and room sprays. With the help of her mom, Candace Bowman, Brooke makes all of these products at home with "clean" products, which use natural ingredients.
Two of Bowman's favorite scents are Beach Bum (orange, mango and coconut milk) and Cinnamon Roll (cinnamon, vanilla and baked bread). For the holidays, she's created new scents like Christmas Tree (cypress, cedar and fir), Christmas Memories (orange peel, clove and evergreen). She even has a set of melts that looks like cashew chicken with rice, an egg roll and fortune cookie. All of Bowman's scents are available as Freshies, melts and sprays.
In addition to individual products, Bowman will be selling holiday giftboxes at the showcase. One box will include three two-ounce wax melts packages for $25 and the other will include a wax melt warmer and two two-ounce melt packages.
Bowman said a few of the most important skills she learned over the last few weeks were communication and how to properly price her products. Since being enrolled in the showcase's curriculum, Bowman has raised her prices to better represent how much time she puts into them.
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Right now, Bowman sells her products at Ozark's Crafters Unique Boutique. When she's not busy with school work or making products for the boutique, she also runs cross country and track and field and teaches figure skating.
"It's been kind of hard because of homework and stuff," Bowman said about balancing school and work. "After school I usually try to do my homework and then try to work on this (The Littlest Things) until usually kind of late."
Bowman said if she were to win one of the $500 grants provided at the showcase, she would put the money right back into her business for supplies and ingredients. Looking toward the future, she hopes to one day be able to open a storefront and host wax melt making parties for families.
Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Young Entrepreneurs Showcase to feature 60 business owners on Saturday
