For some young people, Saturday is a day to sleep in or hang out. But on August 8, a group of youth entrepreneurs spent theirs showing Dellwood what they’ve been working on. They set up tables, greeted customers, and sold their products at the first-ever Dellwood Kid Entrepreneur Market.
Held in the Dellwood City Hall parking lot, the free event was open to all youth business owners and featured more than 10 pop-up vendors selling everything from clothes, jewelry, and makeup to slime, custom pens, gift baskets, and snacks. The initiative aimed to teach young people the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, including customer service, marketing, pricing, communication, and financial responsibility.
For many of the sellers, the market was an opportunity to express their creativity, help others, and save money for future goals.
Makayla Trotter, the 17-year-old owner of KK Finest Jewels, recalled how her passion for jewelry led her to start her own brand.
“When I was younger, I always loved bracelets, and I always thought everybody overpriced their bracelets,” Trotter said. “So I just started it and I made it cheaper than usual.” Today, Trotter sells her bracelets 3 for $5 or 1 for $2.
Trotter acknowledged that she’ll be taking what she learned from this market into the next one.
“If you do pop-up shops, I feel like you should have some character to your table,” Trotter said. “Mine was very plain, this is my first one. But I did sell, so that’s a good business.”
Fourteen-year-old Amoura Robinson Cole, owner of Poodie’s Creations, specializes in holiday-themed and custom gift baskets for all occasions.
“Today, I’m selling baskets for back to school theme,” Cole said. “We have backpacks, headphones, lunch boxes, water bottles, and anything that contains school supplies and stuff like that.”
She also offered advice for other prospective young business owners.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t have everything figured out at that moment. You just start with what you have and continue to work your way up,” Cole said. “You never know what your future may look like, so just do it.”
Fellow entrepreneur Maliah Jambga echoed that sentiment, adding, “If you want to start your own business, start now, work for what you want, and follow your dreams.”
Savanna Benson started her business — Savanna Creation Station — just three months ago, selling a bit of everything from homemade goodies to house decor. She said meeting new people has been the most exciting part of being a business owner.
The market comes as interest in entrepreneurship continues to grow among young people. Research conducted by Junior Achievement USA found that nearly seven in ten teens (69%) have a business idea, while 41% view starting a business as a viable alternative to traditional employment.
Dellwood Mayor Reggie Jones highlighted the long-term impact of supporting youth innovation.
“This event is about planting the seed of entrepreneurship,” Mayor Jones said. “We want our young people to understand that they can create opportunities for themselves, build wealth, and become leaders in their communities.”
Jones added that the market gives youth practical experience running a business, noting his hope that participants will use these skills to build community-focused ventures in the future.
“Today’s young entrepreneur could become tomorrow’s successful business owner,” Mayor Jones said.
Community member Daniel Brown, who took a break from hosting his company’s back-to-school event nearby in Dellwood, dropped in to support the market.
“It’s important that when kids are doing positive things, that adults support that,” Brown said. “So, we just wanted to make sure that they knew that they were doing a great thing – and it was important.”
Brown praised both the young sellers and their parents for cultivating self-reliance early in life.
“There’s nothing wrong with working for someone else, but there’s a lot of power in being able to work for yourself,” Brown said. “And there are a lot of parents here that are showing this to their children –the importance of becoming an entrepreneur – at an early age.”
He emphasized that passing down that mindset builds generational impact.
“One day, these little kids don’t know it, but they’ll be parents passing on the same deal. So, it was great to see parents and children out here doing this together,” Brown said.