Saturday is the launch event for Meadowbrook Mall’s very first Children’s Business Fair and organizers are hoping aspiring young entrepreneurs will gather their ingenuity and compete for cash prizes.

 

There is opportunity for up to 75 children – ages 6 to 14 – to take part in the business fair scheduled for April 13 at the mall.

 

In four different age groups – 6-7, 8-10, 11-12 and 13-14 – competition will take place in three categories: “Most Business Potential, “Most Creative Idea” and “Most Impressive Presentation.”

 

Kids who have ideas should get on board soon.

 

“We strongly encourage them to act quickly because we only take the first 75 entries and we also reserve the right to limit the number of similar concepts,” said Machelle Cava.

 

Cava and her husband Dan – owners of Dan Cava Toyota World and other local car dealerships - are providing cash prizes for the event.

 

She and Lauren Brown of Gorilla Strength & Fitness brought the idea of the Children’s Business Fair to Meadowbrook Mall Marketing Director Robin Urquhart.

 

“We’re partnering to make this a huge, wonderful event for the community,” Cava said.

 

It was Brown who came up with the concept of the entrepreneurship competition for area kids and Cava said she quickly agreed.

 

“It’s a great way to encourage independent thinkers and self-starters and we always want to motivate that,” Cava said. “It’s amazing how young we start kids in sports like T-ball and flag football. We bring them out when they are five and six years old, teaching them the basics of the sports. But what about business? If we don’t encourage that, how else are they going to know?”

 

Cava said she looks at the event like the new-generation lemonade stand.

 

“Like a lemonade stand, the whole purpose is to teach kids to get out there, use their communication skills and teach them the benefit of hard work; give them a financial education,” she said.

 

Like her own lemonade stand when she was a child, Cava looks forward to making the Children’s Business Fair an annual event.

 

She and Brown have been taking their pitch for the event to area elementary and middle schools. She hopes plenty of prospective participants will come out to Meadowbrook Mall’s WDTV5 Event Center between 12-5 p.m. Saturday to register. Application packets will be available during the launch event and representatives will be on hand to answer questions. Deadline for registration is March 22. Application packets will be available at the mall business office between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

 

Local entrepreneurs will serve as judges at the event. In addition to Meadowbrook Mal, Dan Cava Toyota, Dan’s Car World, Dan Cava Buick GMC Cadillac and Gorilla Strength & Fitness, event sponsors include Acton Academy and the Acton School of Business.

 

On April 13, displays will start at 10 a.m. The public is invited to visit each child’s display and make purchases. Participants are responsible for the setup, sales and interaction with customers with no assistance from adults. Winners will be announced and prizes awarded at 1 p.m. 

 

Urquhart said the Children’s Business Fair is a perfect fit for Meadowbrook Mall as it targets families and is centered around the development of young retail entrepreneurs.