Children's Business Fairs
In Partnership with Lokahi Kailua Market -- Business Opportunities for Youth
Our 7th Fair - into the mix with the adults!
The six young vendors were slotted into booths immediately adjacent to real live grownup businesses at our 7th Children's Business Fair. Harmoni's Holoholo Gold was a big success, along with Jane's Artemis Wave jewelry and Liam's Knots and Notes custom-curated holiday cards. Marielle, our Hall of Famer, returned for her 5th fair at age 10 -- adding a new wrinkle by selling her own artwork in addition to her personally designed greeting cards. Kamakana made a return (after growing about 8 inches in height!) with his Creations, and little Alyzah -- all 7 years of her -- brought her infectious smile to deliver delicious dragonfruit and watermelon juice drinks. The group excelled being among the adults, and everyone met or exceeded their goals.
Our 6th Fair ==> SEPT 21, 2025
A total of 8 vendors hit the Lokahi Kailua Market scene for our 6th fair, including 5 new businesses. The group was anchored by Marielle's 4th appearance with her incredible hand-drawn greeting card business. One delicious highlight was Jacob's "Keiki Crepes" complete with matching team attire and intricately wrapped krispy square treats. All in all we had a wonderful weather day and plenty of great business lessons learned.
Our 5th Fair ==> APRIL 13, 2025
We hosted 5 young businesses at the regular Lokahi Kailua Market location, under the roof at 340 Uluniu Street. Sparkle and Berry provided impressive aesthetics, while Island Paws and Claws had an impressive array of treats for dogs and humans. Potions were the feature at Sparkle Spells, and gifts were abundant at Kamakana Creations 808 (first market ever). Best logo design went to Soul Stitchers! All in all, the kids enjoyed the live-market atmosphere on a REAL Sunday with REAL shoppers. They each benefitted from the experience and came away knowing what it takes.
Our 4th Fair -- Getting in Front of Christmas
Recognizing the ever-expanding nature of the holiday season, we put our fair on November 20th and wow was it BUSY!! Three new vendors joined some veterans and everyone smashed their sales goals. The main thing: everyone had a great time, including special musical guests Moses Molina and Kailua recording artist Rebecca James!
Our Third Fair - April 2024
Our third Children's Business Fair continued our ongoing relationship with the Lokahi Kailua Market, and gave children an opportunity to further enhance their knowledge of what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur. Creating inventory, building a storefront, interacting with customers, and making sales at a real market gives the young vendors valuable insight into the basics of owning a business. This fair will have several vendors who are returning to the CBF, armed with the knowledge of past lessons and ready to impress customers!!
Limitless Potential
Cultivating an entrepreneurial spirit in our youth is a foundational undertaking for the future of our communities. Children's Business Fairs intend to promote and inspire the confidence and acumen of child-entrepreneurs in the community. The Collective is proud to provide a space for young people to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
Boosted by support from the weekly Lokahi Kailua Market, and our friends at the Lilikoi Kitchen, the Children's Business Fair hosted by The Collective is a place where kids, largely unassisted, do the creating, marketing, and selling of their products.
Many items are handmade, such as Ariana's carefully-sewn stuffed animals and Lorelei's ocean-plastics jewelry. Sawyer cultivated native plants and sells them with a bit of history about each one. Summit found inspiration in developing his own brand of trail mix. And Azariah collaborated with his mom to develop his own t-shirt business.
We appreciated support from our Lilikoi Kitchen friends, who extended hours and adjusted their operation to serve customers in our rearranged space for the day!
Small Fries -- Endless Skies
Here are some of the businesses participating in the first event. Age range of the principal vendors is from 8 to 13, and the 8 is being supported by little sister age 5. Seven different schools are represented as are 4 of Honolulu City and County's 9 districts. Item sales prices range from $2 to over $50.
Small Business Action
Here are just a few images from the fair on September 24, 2023.
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December 3, 2023
Thanks to the Lokahi Kailua Market to support booth space for the CBF! The Collective and the LKM have been cross-supporting each other as business neighbors for many years. Support LKM at 340 Uluniu nearly every Sunday of the year from 9am-1pm.
