Posted by Another Fun Event Under Wraps
If you missed the Metro Birmingham Children’s Business Fair this past Saturday at the Hueytown Boys and Girls Club, you missed a real treat. We had 32 kid businesses set up and they offered a wide variety of products. They a little of everything including, but not limited to: Slime, home accessories, jewelry, lotions and other personal care items, homemade seasonings, toys, art, makeup, lawn service and pastries that were mouth watering good.
As with our previous two fairs, once the doors opened at 1:00, the flow of traffic did not stop until 4:00 when the fair was over. When patrons walked into the gym and saw all of the kids set up for business, you could literally see their eyes delightfully light up. Everyone present was amazed and blown away by the kids’ presentations, their communication skills, product knowledge, enthusiasm and the fact that not a single kid was afraid of what they had ventured to become a part of.
As a result of previous post event surveys, we had shopping bags for customers so that they could put all of their merchandise into one bag. We owe that bright idea to Mrs. Vera Penny of Fairfield. She noted that on her exit survey. Thank you, thank you Mrs. Penny for that suggestions. It was definitely a winner.
4 Winners in Each of the 4 Age Groups
The participants were divided into for age groups: 6-8, 9-12, 13-14 and 15-16. We had judges assigned to different age groups and we awarded $50 cash prizes to each of the 4 winners as follows:
Age 6-8 group: Tyler Mays – Tyler’s Sweet Treats
Age 9-11 group: Abigail Silmon – Absolutely Abbey
Age 12-13 group: Chloe Mays – Chloe’s Cuisine
Age 14 – 16 group: Kayla Lawson & Lauryn Brown – Sugar Rush Scrub
1 Business Plan Winner
In addition to the 4 age group winners, we gave an additional $100 cash prize to the best business plan winner: Alyssa Bellamy – A.T.B. Fashions. Prior to the fair, the Business Plan criteria took into account the thoroughness of the business plan, photos, videos, logos and other marketing material and bio submitted as appeared on their webpage. At the fair, the judges factored in how well their product/services offerings matched their business plan as well as the presentation of the business at the fair.
Best Booth Presentation Winner
We had an unexpected surprise and as a result we presented another winner with a $100 cash price for the best booth presentation. Although not planned, one of the judges, Curtis K. Richardson, was so impressed with the booth presentation, he decided to kick in a $100 prize to another winner which was Jamiya Rutledge – Shea Renee’s Crafts and DIY Products.
Both the business plan winner and the booth presentation winner go to the same school and on Thursday, April 25th we surprised them both by going to the school and presenting their award in front of their classmates. How exciting and cool is that. We didn’t want to award them a prize without the hoopla and fanfare that the other winners were able to experience at the fair.